The X-Files
Australian Conne-X-ion
Episode Guide:
"El Mundo Gira"


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Episode 4X11

Title: El Mundo Gira

First screened in Australia: April 23, 1997
First screened in the USA: January 12, 1997

Credits: Director: Tucker Gates
Writer: John Shiban Starring: Guest Stars: Plot:
Mulder and Scully investigate the death of a migrant worker (Maria Dorantes) where the suspect is El Chupacbra, the Mexican Goat Sucker. A fortean event (yellow rain) precedes a number of victims who are killed by a fungus spread by Eladio Buente, the brother of Soldedad Buente, Maria's sweetheart.

My Rating: 8/10

A much-maligned episode that in my humble opinion is really quite good. In fact I've watched (and enjoyed) it quite a few times! There's a lot of humour (see my notable quotables below for some examples) which always appeals to me and the acting is spot on. Ruben Blades is one of my favourite "not famous" actors and it was good to see him on The X-Files. The subject matter is quite interesting - fortean events, illegal "aliens", folklore, different points of view and there's a passionate human story at the very heart of the matter. The special effects are also very good and there are some classic sound bites (Mulder's "Maria, Maria" for example) that are among my favourites and good value in Desktop Themes if you're into that sort of thing. As a "monster-of-the-week" episode I have no problems with it!

When I wrote this review, this episode is ranked as the 4th worst on the GEOS X-Files Episode Guide.

Notable Quotable:

Mulder: Witnesses described a bright flash about 30 degrees off the horizon, then a hot yellow rain fell from a cloudless sky. Fortean researchers call these "liquid falls." Black and red rains are the most common, but there have also been reported cases of blue,purple and green rains.
Scully: Purple rain?
Mulder: Yeah. Great album. eeply flawed movie, though.


Scully: It makes perfect sense, Mulder. Admit it. You fell for it. Your "Fortean Event" turned out to be nothing more than the oldest story in the world. Two men. One woman. Trouble.


Mulder: I’m looking for a man named Eladio Buente. He hasn’t been seen for three days and he’s not in police custody. I thought he might be in INS custody.
Lozano: He might. (Offers seat to Mulder, takes down a file and opens it.) Let’s see. Okay! We have a Jose Feliciano. We have Juan Valdez, we have Cesar Chavez, we have Placido Domingo here. (Mulder smiles.) But I don’t see any Eladio Buente


Mulder: They think he’s the Chupacabra.
Lozano: That may be, but I will tell you with a tremendous degree of certainty this guy is not Erik Estrada.

then later...
Lozano: This guy’s *better* than Erik Estrada!


Scully: Did he tell you what happened?
Mulder: Flash of light ... yellow rain ... Maria! (yells) Maria!!!



Where Have I Seen That Face Before?

Ruben Blades (Lozano) has been in numerous movies including "The Untouchables", "Color Of Night", "Predator II", "The Two Jakes", "The Milagro Beanfield War" and was Harrison Ford's partner in "The Devil's Own". He's also an accomplished singer and composer. I have two of his albums including a collaboration with Elvis Costello which is quite good. He won a Grammy for his "Encenas" album and composed the score for the Nick Nolte film "Q + A".

Trivia

"El Mundo Gira" director Tucker Gates helmed another X-Files episode, "Hell Money", which is rated the fifth worst ep. on the GEOS X-Files Episode Guide. With this episode ranked as the fourth worst, it's no wonder he didn't get any more work on the series.

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