Rendezvous with Cinema. Sanmao, the desert bride

The virtual film club «Rendezvous with Cinema» dedicates this May to Sanmao, the desert bride by Ana Pérez de la Fuente and Marta Arribas.

In the 70s, the Chinese writer and traveler San Mao lived an exciting love story with the Spanish diver José María Quero. They traveled to the Spanish Sahara where San Mao captured their daily experiences in the book Tales from the Sahara, whose publication in Taiwan and later in China catapulted her to fame. But the couple’s idyll was tragically broken by the death of José María in a diving accident. A tragedy that years later would add the suicide of the writer who had already become a celebrity but unable to overcome the disappearance of her partner.

Since then, many Chinese and Taiwanese readers have made a pilgrimage to Spain every year in search of the traces of San Mao and José María, He Xi in their stories. San Mao’s books, unpublished in Spain, still remain untranslated.

The activity is moderated by Cervantes Institute's staff. The meetings, which take place in a live chat, have the participation of specialists to the film industry (filmmakers, screenwriters ...) Enjoy movies in Spanish!