Marcos Zurinaga’s film inaugurates Puerto Rico’s entry into the international film scene. This well photographed, stylized, and historically illuminating tale is set in San Juan in 1942. The occasion is the last grand ball being held by Puerto Rican high society in a classy casino before the U. S. Army take control of the building. On this evening, political rivals square off against each other in schemes designed to gain them power. One family’s difficulties become a microcosm of the island’s social, economic, and political tensions. La Gran Fiesta holds our interest and stimulates our historical imagination.