It was an epic cycling journey in 1956, 5,600 kilometres from Mexico to Toronto, by Mexican brothers Arturo Martinez McNaught and Gustavo Martinez McNaught.
And then 50 years later, they retraced their steps: exploring their love of cycling, their affection for Mexico and Canada, and their attachment to one another.
It was documented by filmmaker Andrea Martinez Crowther, daughter of Arturo and his wife, KW native Pat Crowther. The result, Ciclo, has toured around Latin American film festivals (it's in Spanish with English subtitles) and art-house festivals, creating positive buzz, such as this feature in Ottawa blog Apt 613.
Gustavo's daughter, Toronto singer/songwriter Amanda Martinez spoke with CBC Radio One's Matt Galloway in the run-up to the Pan Am Games about her uncle and her father, and their adventure, as an introduction to her part in the Games as a torch-bearer. In many ways, the story of these two Mexican cyclists is the story of Canada: people from many countries finding a home here.
I wrote about the production of the film in Take the Lane in 2009, when the film crew was finishing the journey in Toronto. It seems like a long time from there to here, but not so long, also.
Ciclo is being screened at the Kitchener Public Library, Central Branch, 85 Queen St. N., Kitchener, on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. This is not a library event, so there is an admission charge of $10 a person. Andrea Martinez Crowther is expected to attend the screening. You can check out Ciclo on Facebook.