At age 2 ½ my Rebekah had a fascination with the Three Caballeros. I purchased the dvd for her and she would watch this movie over and over again. When we visited the Mexico Pavilion in Epcot you can only imagine her excitement when she embarked on the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride, we may have won a world record for the amount of times ridden in a row! I discovered this dvd was so much more than a Three Caballeros cartoon, it was a documentary of Walt Disney and his artists. If you are as intrigued as I am about Walt Disney History, this dvd – Saludos Amigos,would be a great addition to any Walt Disney collection.
In 1941, upon America’s entry into World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt enlisted Walt Disney to take a trip to South America on a Goodwill Tour. Walt personified American spirit and was the perfect person to greet and visit with people in South America. From this public relations tour the documentary ”Walt & El Grupo” was created and records Walt Disney and his team of artists, musicians, writers and animators as they embark on this journey the President set forth.
Walt and 16 of his artists visited Brazil, Argentina and Chile, where he met with the president of Brazil and the president and vice president of Argentina. It was said by the time they reached Chile Walt was only interested in meeting with local artists; he had enough of “handshaking with elected officials”. While on this Goodwill Tour the El Grupo are seen dancing with the locals, riding horses, sightseeing and going to lots of parties.
During this trip Walt and his team were introduced to Latin music. It was the first time they had heard the Samba and immediately were taken back and were excited to integrate this music and other folklore tales into new story lines they were developing. This is where Joe Carioca, a Brazilian parrot, was created and later became part of the Three Caballeros.
A little piece of Disney History on this TBT …….
Are you a Caballero Fan? Who is your favorite?
~Maureen
Oh my stars, how I love Walt Disney history! I thoroughly enjoyed reading more about the Goodwill Tour and “Walt & El Grupo”; I had touched on this historical tidbit when I researched the Mary Blair/Walt Disney relationship, { http://www.distherapy.com/2014/04/walt-disney-and-mary-blair-their-grand.html}, but your detail here is so complete! Understanding this period and backdrop makes Saludos Amigos and everything Disney so much more enjoyable.
Thank you Distherapy! Me too! I am going to click on the link you seen me now and check it out! thank you