Classic ‘Tin Tan’ film restored by Mexico’s National Film Library

The style and charisma of Mexican actor Germán Valdés (Tin Tan) and the unparalleled beauty of Silvia Pinal will now be available in full splendor thanks to the restoration of the Mexican classic “El rey del barrio” (The King of the Neighborhood) undertaken by the National Film Library and the Salinas corporate group.

It took six months to restore the film. Experts working on the project tried to emulate its appearance at the time the film was launched 70 years ago , all of which required a thorough investigation on the part of photographer Agustín Martínez Solares , who managed to repair 141,851 frames individually.

“At Mexico’s National Film library it is our job to restore and uphold the quality of our film heritage, and El rey del barrio is undoubtedly one of the great classics of Mexican cinema,” stated Alejandro Pelayo Rangel, general director of the Film Library.

Pelayo Rangel commented that the National Film Library would soon work on other similar projects taken from the collection of the corporate conglomerate Grupo Salinas.

“I celebrate the fact that, thanks to the enthusiasm of Ricardo Salinas , we can establish this alliance with a public institution such as the Film Library. A year ago, Alejandro Pelayo and I were discussing the need to update some of our great cinematic treasures,” said Sergio Vela, director of Art and Culture at Grupo Salinas .

The organization representative considered that the Film Library’s Digital Restoration Laboratory was one of the best in the world.

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