About The Documentary

Gabriel García Márquez once wrote: „More than any book, I think what opened my eyes was music, vallenato songs.” Inspired by this quote as well, Hungarian videographer/musician, Eszter Vörös, goes to Colombia alone to see how popular culture of the Caribbean area influenced the world-famous Colombian writer and gathers spoken and sang stories from family members, friends and vallenato musicians who prove that Gabo – as he is called in Latin-America- also had a great impact on their lives. While listening to stories about the writer we can have a glimpse into the life of “El Caribe” and the important cities of García Márquez’s Colombian life through the eyes of the locals and the film maker herself.

Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor

Protagonists

JAIME GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ

JOAQUÍN ARMENTA

RODRIGO RODRIGUEZ

JORGE LEAL MOLINA

MIGUEL TORRES BADÍN

Vallenato music

RODRIGO RODRIGUEZ

ADOLFO PACHECO

RAFAEL ESCALONA

Awards

CUZCO UNDERGROUND CINEMA FESTIVAL - BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

65TH HUNGARIAN INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, CATEGORY AWARD

WRPN WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - EXCELLENCE AWARD

Crew

The official crew consists of two people. Eszter Vörös (director, producer, DOP, Editor) and János Másik, who composed the soundtrack of the film and who also contributed as an artistic consultant in the last 1,5 years of the editing process. The majority of the translation works was done by Kitti Bodas, but also by Maria Julia Honfi, Péter Pallai and Robert D. Jameson. Vagyim Kemény helped as an editorial consultant. Coloring was made by Balázs Böröcz, sound editing by Studio H. (Balázs Pejkó, Tamás Simon). All legal issues were coordinated by Dr. Krisztina Endrényi, attorney of law. Beyond this group there is a crowd of people from family and close friends to people who I met only a few times or even strangers, who helped me from the bottom of their heart and contributed to the birth of The Great Parranda. I will always be grateful for them.

Vörös Eszter
ESZTER VÖRÖS

Videographer, Bandoneonist, Journalist
mail@esztervoros.com

Director, Producer, DOP and Editor of THE GREAT PARRANDA – Stories About Gabriel García Márquez.

mail@esztervoros.com

I am a videographer and a musician (bandoneonist). I live in Europe (Hungary). I made hundreds of videos of different kinds during the last 15 years, but this is my first feature documentary and it has a special place in my life. It all began in 2013, or maybe years before, when I read García Márquez’s novels or when I first took a step on Latin American land. But definitely my passion about the culture of this continent and the desire to visit Gabo’s Macondo and above all the journalism scholarship I won to Colombia by Fundación Gabo drove me on a path that changed so many things in my life and that finally lead me towards this movie and to you, dear visitor, who landed on this page of The Great Parranda/La Gran Parranda. It took me 6,5 years to finish this documentary, that became a kind of pilgrimage for me. I went back to Colombia three times, alone. My budget came from my savings and my family’s and friend’s donations. There were times when I almost lost faith in myself and the whole work but in those crucial moments there was always something or somebody (including myself) who helped me through difficulties.

It took me 6,5 years to finish this documentary, that became a kind of pilgrimage for me. I went back to Colombia three times, alone. My budget came from my savings and my family’s and friend’s donations. There were times when I almost lost faith in myself and the whole work but in those crucial moments there was always something or somebody (including myself) who helped me through difficulties. So I learned that if you are devoted, if you put your heart and soul and all your knowledge into what you do, no matter how insane it seems sometimes, you always win. And you get help. And you succeed.  My story is also in the film. I started shooting, because I wanted to share that special atmosphere that I entered in 2013, with people who don’t have the chance to experience it and with those who are also drawn to Gabriel García Márquez’s world. 

Foto Janosrol negyzet
JÁNOS MÁSIK

Composer, Singer, Musician (Main instruments: bandoneon, piano, guitar, percussion)
masikjanos807@gmail.com

János Másik composed the soundtrack of the film and also contributed with artistic consulting in the last 1,5 years of the editing process.

János Másik is a versatile artist who excels in several musical genres and instruments should he perform alone or with fellow musicians and compose for ensembles or orchestras. He also writes poetry and paints/draws. He composed music for over 40 movies, both Hungarians and international ones. His soundtrack for The Great Parranda deeply connects to Latin-America, but also keeps the necessary distance from it so that it could lift the whole story to a different level. It was amazing to experience the process of how his music supported the narrative and at how it brought together that big parranda that became The Great Parranda.

Watch The Movie

The Great Parranda – watch the movie

The documentary is available on NETFLIX in the US, in Canada, in Latin America and in Spain. In English its title is: What a Party! Stories About Gabriel García Márquez.

Characters Of The Documentary

Joaquin Armenta
Joaquín Armenta Vengoechea

Gabo’s childhood friend from Aracataca. Now lives in Bogota ans Barranquilla. He has wonderful stories from their shared memories.

Jaime García Márquez
Jaime García Márquez

Gabo’s youngest brother, whol ives in Cartagena de Indias. He loves to tell anecdotes about his brother.

Margarita GM2
Margarita García Márquez

Gabo’s oldest sister. The one with whom Gabo spent the memorable years in their grandparents’ home in Aracataca.

Roy Rodriguez
Rodrigo „Roy” Rodriguez

Vallenato composer, singer, professor, accordeon player. A great
musician whose composition becomes central in The Great Parranda.

Gallery

Take a glimpse into The Great Parranda and Gabo's Colombia

Contact

contact@thegreatparranda.com

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