This fictionalized portrayal of Emiliano Zapata as an Indigenous Mexican shaman, directed by Alfonso Arau, was reportedly the most expensive Mexican movie ever produced, with a massive ad campaign, and the largest ever opening in the nation's history. Unusual in the Mexican film industry, Zapata was financed independently.

Zapata: The dream of a hero

The story of the oil leader Lázaro Pizarro, of his political and personal wars, the use of crime to settle conflicts and the course of his power between the basements and the domes of Mexican politics, have a narrative record made in the Gulf of accuracy and dexterity