MovieChat Forums > The Dancer Upstairs (2003) Discussion > true story in Peru. READ THIS

true story in Peru. READ THIS

posted 19 years ago by hoemoe_13
3 replies | jump to latest

Hey guys, I was really surprised to read the following article on BBC news!!!!

A ballet dancer who hid the leader of Peru's guerrilla insurgency above her dance studio has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Abimael Guzman, founder of the Shining Path rebels, was discovered at Maritza Garrido Lecca's studio in Lima after a nationwide manhunt in 1992. The group is blamed for the majority of 70,000 deaths since Peru's insurgency broke out in the 1980s. Ms Garrido Lecca was arrested after a lengthy surveillance operation on her building in the Peruvian capital. Intelligence agents posing as rubbish collectors and street cleaners monitored her garbage for indications that Mr Guzman was hiding on the premises. Eventually they stormed the building, arresting both Mr Guzman and Ms Garrido Lecca. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for the dancer, who denied being a leader of the Shining Path but did not deny links to the organisation.

[–] acerophobia 19 years ago

I thought this movie might have been about the Shining Path, but I didn't know enough about them to be sure. Thanks for the tip!

[–] MissPiggy13 18 years ago

they talk about this in the dvd extras

[–] user-1565 18 years ago

Yes it is true I'm from Peru and i remember watching the news talking about the capture of Abimael Guzma lider of "Sendero Luminozo" or shinging path and yes the movie describes exactly what happened but it chages the names of all the people involved