In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking classic Aguirre, The Wrath of God, a special screening was held on February 11 at the FAU University Theatre in Boca Raton (Florida). The film was followed by a conversation between legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog and co-producer José Koechlin.

In front of a full house, Herzog and Koechlin recalled countless stories about the filming of Aguirre. “It would be inconceivable today do a film like this,” Herzog stated before sharing the circumstances that bonded him with Inkaterra founder José Koechlin. “We couldn’t pay our extras anymore and we had no more food. I sold my shoes and my wrist watch. My brother Lucki [Herzog’s producer since his very first short features] went door to door looking for funding, but we needed it tomorrow. We came across Joe, who had seen our early films at a school in Lima. He provided us with US$50,000. We did a film with no contract. Just a hand shake, and my hand shake has been a more solid contract than any paperwork with any Hollywood company. We formed a friendship that continued with Fitzcarraldo.”

“We were doing something beyond imagination,” Koechlin replied. “We were young and had no understanding of things, we did whatever we felt was the right thing to do.”

Defined by film critic Roger Ebert as “one of the great haunting visions of cinema,” Aguirre, The Wrath of God follows the descent into madness of the callous Spanish conquistador Don Lope de Aguirre, in search of El Dorado, the mythical empire of gold. Portraying the true essence of Peru’s enchanting landscapes, from the heights of Machu Picchu to the depths of the Amazon, Herzog’s film contributed to the development of ecotourism in Peru.

Werner Herzog has produced, written and directed nearly 70 feature films and documentaries, and recently published his first novel, The Twilight World –inspired by the true story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who defended a small island in the Philippines for twenty-nine years after the end of World War II. Commemorating their longtime friendship, Werner Herzog gave the first copy of the English edition of his novel to José Koechlin, before its release in June 2022.

“Werner is one of the greatest artists of our time,” José Koechlin previously stated. “Many years ago, François Truffaut named him the most important film director alive – and I believe he still is. The experience of producing Aguirre in 1975 inspired the foundation of Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica in the Madre de Dios rainforest, which led to establishing the first private concession in Peru for research and ecotourism. Since then we have pursued our dreams through Inkaterra, producing scientific research as a basis for biodiversity conservation and the wellbeing local communities.”

INKATERRA SPONSORS THE BOCA RATON MUSEUM OF ART’S 2022 FUNDRAISING GALA

Three unbelievable itineraries across all Inkaterra properties were auctioned off at the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s Fundraising Gala. Proceeds will go to the museum’s Art School, which inspires and trains community members of all ages in various traditional and experimental creative artistic expressions. The Art School is a multi-disciplinary environment supported and enriched by artistic influences both local and global in reach.

World-renowned chef Virgilio Martinez (Central Restaurant) delighted patrons at the 2022 Fundraising Gala with an impressive five-course dinner; dishes celebrated Peruvian culture and biodiversity. Inkaterra founder José Koechlin and his wife, designer Denise Koechlin, were guests of honor at the gala where the museum’s board of directors announced that the record-breaking exhibition ‘Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru’ had drawn 100,000 visitors and tripled the museum’s membership throughout its 5-month run at the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

Produced by World Heritage Exhibitions in alliance with Inkaterra Asociación, ‘Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru’ is an all-new, immersive museum experience boasting a stunning selection of 192 artifacts from the Larco Museum (one of the most impressive collections of gold treasures to ever tour the world) and the first-ever VR tour across Machu Picchu.

“The exhibition has been staged like a theatrical production with dramatic lighting, sparkling crystal glass display cases and a virtual reality feature that takes you on a swooping, plunging, magic carpet ride over the roofless ruins of the Inca citadel,”,” hailed the New York Times. “This is the crème de la crème… the kinds of works that museums around the world are trying constantly to get on loan.”