Gonzalo Gavira

Gonzalo Gavira (October 30, 1925 – January 9, 2005) was a Mexican movie sound technician. He formed part of the team that won an Oscar for the movie The Exorcist in 1973.^[1] Outside of Mexico he worked on more than 60 other films, including the disaster movie The Towering Inferno and western El Topo, as well as Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. While working in the United States he always worked with an assistant named Ruben C. Bustamante, Mr. Gavira referred to him as invaluable. In 1975 he was awarded the Silver Ariel, which is the highest award that can be received from Mexican theatre.^[1] He died in 2005, reportedly from circulation problems. Along with working together with director Sergio Leone, Gonzalo Gavira worked with William Friedkin, Alejandro Jodorosky (The Holy Mountain) and the great Cantinflas, who on many occasions classified Mr. Gavira as a genius. Once upon meeting Lee Marvin, Gonzalo Gavira asked Mr. Marvin to autograph a twenty dollar bill. Lee Marvin refused, stating he would rather use that twenty to buy some drinks later, they became fast friends. Mr. Gonzalo Gavira worked on approximately 80% of all movie features made in Mexico. "Letters from Marusia" was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1976 Oscars and "Canoa" won Picture of the Year 1976 in Mexico City.

References

• Article about the life and death of Gaviria (in Spanish)
• BBC Obituary