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Tuesday, February 17, 2009 (read 1033 times)
 

Spanish pilgrimage route movie starring Martin Sheen in pre-production in Galicia

by Stacey

American actor Martin Sheen and his actor-director son Emilio Estevez plan to shoot a movie on the ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain to the city of Santiago de Compostela, and they hope to employ local actors in the making of the movie. The film's settings will be Santiago and several areas of the Galician coast.

The statement released by the local Galician government stated that during his meeting with the president of the regional government, Emilio Perez Tourino, the actor expressed his "desire to settle an historical debt with his father's land and he thought a movie would be the best way to do this. " Tourino consented to the project, acknowledging that 2010 will be the "Holy Year " for Santiago de Compostela " which means that St James's day (25th July) falls on a Sunday, and does not happen quite often.

Martin Sheen was born as Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez to Francisco Estévez, a proud Spanish immigrant father from small-town Parderrubias in Galicia (a rugged fishing region near Portugal) who worked long hours as a punch press operator at the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio to support his kids and his Irish wife. Martin Sheen changed his birth name to his current stage name because he expected a better reception for an Irish name than a Hispanic name in those years; his sons, however made different choices: Carlos Irwin Estévez is now known as actor Charlie Sheen, while Emilio Estévez, the director of the film, left his name unchanged hoping to avoid riding his father's coat tails.

The pilgrimage routes of the Way of Saint James or El Camino de Santiago stretch throughout Europe and end at Santiago's cathedral (at one time the third holiest city in Christianity) and where the faithful believe the remains of St. James the Apostle are buried. The "saint " derives from the Battle of Clavijo in 841 between Ramiro, King of Leon, and the Moors. When the Christians were losing, an armed St James appeared in the field, on a charger horse decorated with scallop shells, slaying 60,000 Moors.

The cathedral today still draws millions of pious travelers from around the world since the Middle Ages. Many who make the journey today still wear the traditional cape, long staff and felt cap adorned with James' scallop shells, the symbol of the saint which can be found all over the city.


Keywords: spanish pilgrimage,route movie,martin sheen,galicia

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