Film shows rare footage of Mexico's brutal Cristero War

Scene from For Greater Glory

Today, a new film opens in US cinemas telling the inspiring and heart-wrenching story of the Cristero War, or La Cristiada (1926-1929). Starring Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, and Peter O'Toole, For Greater Glory depicts a brutal episode in Mexico's history when an atheist government sought to destroy the Catholic Church's influence on the people and culture.

Through repressive laws and public executions of priests, the regime tried to expel Catholics, but it did not expect the uprising that began with peaceful resistance and eventually led to formal violent confrontations. As part of a research project on the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and its aftermath, the Arizona State University Hispanic Research Center looked into La Cristiada and included it in an hour-long documentary, Revolution and Its Culture: 1910-1929.

The 11-minute segment about the Cristero War includes rare footage of actual events and can be found on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3TXpKfqeho&feature=youtu.be

It is best if watched on full screen.