Alfonso Arau

Arau was born in Mexico City, the son of a doctor. He directed the films Zapata: The Dream of a Hero, Like Water for Chocolate (adapted from the novel written by his ex-wife Laura Esquivel), A Walk in the Clouds with Keanu Reeves and Anthony Quinn, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame production A Painted House, adapted from the John Grisham novel of the same name. Among a plethora of roles in his career, Arau has played "Captain Herrera", a lieutenant of Federal general "Mapache", in Sam Peckinpah\'s 1969 western The Wild Bunch, chief bandit "El Guapo" in Three Amigos (USA, 1986), a comedy with Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Chevy Chase, shady businessman Manuel in the comedy Used Cars (USA, 1980), and the smuggler "Juan" in Romancing the Stone (USA, 1984) starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Arau appeared in the 1972 Mexican film El rincón de las vírgenes ("The Virgins\' Corner"),…