Remembering a Surprise World Cup Victory: Documentary Film About the 1950 Uruguayan Soccer Champions Comes to Fitchburg Historical Society on Saturday, June 2

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The Fitchburg Historical Society will present a public screening of the Uruguayan-produced documentary film Maracana on Saturday, June 2 at 6:00 p.m. This film is based on the book Maracana, the Secret History by Atilio Garrido, a Uruguayan sports journalist and writer. It was directed by Sebastian Bednarik and Andres Varela, also from Uruguay. The program will be free and open to the public and will take place in the Fitchburg Historical Society’s headquarters in the Phoenix Building, 781 Main Street.

The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the first soccer world championship held since 1938, because all others were cancelled during World War II. The final match of the championship, between Uruguay and the heavily-favored Brazilian team, was held in Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was attended by one of the largest World Cup audiences of all time, at 199,954 people (with unofficial estimates ranging as high as 205,000.) The stunning surprise loss is still known in Brazil as “Maracanazo.”

This 2014 Uruguayan production tells that story through historical footage of the match and interviews with the players. The free movie program is being presented in collaboration with the Consulate General of Uruguay in New York and the Comite de Vecinos de Fitchburg (Fitchburg Committee of Neighbors.) The Fitchburg/Leominster area is one of the largest communities of immigrants from Uruguay in the United States.

The Fitchburg Historical Society is fully ADA accessible, with a parking lot and plenty of on-street parking. Its programs are supported in part by the George R. Wallace Jr. Foundation, the Fitchburg Cultural Council, and the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund. For directions, visit https://www.google.com/maps/place/781+Main+Street,+Fitchburg,+MA+01420/@42.5850813,71.8062273,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e3e656ca72ce63:0xcb20840fa007311a!8m2!3d42.5850813!4d-71.8040386?hl=en.

For more information, call 978-345-1157 or visit www.fitchburghistoricalsociety.com.