CASSIE TOMLIN/Arizona Daily Wildcat Peggy Johnson, in the projection room of the Loft, said this month the theater will feature the film retrospective "Cine Mexico: Celebrating Great Mexican Film." Johnson is the executive director of Tucson Cinema Foundation, the group that owns and operates the Loft.

Mexico has a long and illustrious history with the cinema. From the visionary magic of Luis Buñuel to the gritty realism of Alejandro Iñárritu's current films ("Amores Perros") But not too many people understand the scope of the Mexican film industry, which used to produce more than 100 films a year.

"The Mexican film industry has fallen so much into financial hardships as of late, in the last couple of decades," said Peggy Johnson, executive director of the Loft Cinema. "It's a nation that has this great cinematic tradition, and people today don't know about it that much."

In an effort to pay tribute to and raise awareness about this tradition, the Loft is presenting "Cine Mexico: Celebrating Great Mexican Film," a series consisting of 21 films released anywhere between 1933 to 1995. The films will be shown in Spanish, with English subtitles every night at 7 p.m. from Saturday to Feb. 24.

The first film, "Like Water For Chocolate," broke through to a mainstream American audience when it was released in 1992.

Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arou will introduce the series and be there to field questions afterward. Arizmendi co-starred in the film, where she met Arau, director of the new film "A Day Without A Mexican."

Arou's father was the director of "Like Water For Chocolate" and both have been involved in rebuilding the Mexican film industry.

"Slowly, very slowly the idea of a film industry is becoming a reality," the two said through e-mail. "As of right now each film is a self-motivated, collective adventure - we joke and call it 'handmade films' because they are produced in an artisan fashion as opposed to assembly line."

The current industry is helped by a lot of brilliance that's coming out of recent directors.

"There is very little production in Mexico (about 20 films a year, tops). If seven of those make it worldwide, get awards and capture international audiences I'd say that speaks highly of the talent in Mexico," they said.

But films like "Amores Perros" and "Y Tú Mama También" wouldn't have been possible without the influence of Mexican films that came before them. And while current Mexican films need exposure, the past films aren't getting the recognition they deserve.

"If this event didn't exist, Tucson would more than likely not know Mexico had a film history. Yes there was a film here and there, but they grow out of previous works of others ... not spontaneous generation," Arizmendi and Arou said.

Johnson suggested that if you haven't been exposed to Mexican cinema, then this is an opportunity to get a brief overview and see a lot of the highlights.

"These are among the best films that they've produced. The ones that I have seen are astonishing. You wonder how you aren't familiar with these films if you know movies," Johnson said. "I think people will come away so impressed with these traditions."

Getting the actual films to the Loft was also quite the journey. After seeing a similar series at the Film Forum in New York, Johnson wanted to do something big at the Loft, since Tucson has a great tradition of celebrating Mexican culture.

The Loft had to obtain many of the films from Mexico and even some from India since there aren't many prints of the films being shown, and most aren't available on video or DVD. Johnson credits the Mexican consulate with helping in making the series possible.

Johnson said new prints have been struck of all the films, so they will look beautiful on the big screen.

After being shown here, some will make the trip to Toronto and on to other cities for similar series, spreading Mexican film history throughout the world.

"Like Water For Chocolate" will screen Friday at 7 p.m. There will be a light dinner in the Loft's lobby at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 per film or $75 for a pass for all films. For a full listing of the "Cine Mexico" screenings, please visit www.loftcinema.com.