Anoche, una pelicula fabulosa pasa en Carver.

Wednesday night in Carver 1 at 7 p.m., “Milagro en Roma” (“Miracle in Rome”) kicks off “Amores Dificiles” (“Dangerous Loves”), a five-film series based on the short stories of renowned Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

“Miracle,” which was shot entirely in Colombia, follows main character Margarito Duarte as he travels from Colombia to Rome to ask a favor of the Pope, said Eduardo Garcia, an Iowa State Spanish instructor.

Garcia said the idea for showing the films at ISU started with his third-year composition class, Spanish 301, because he wanted to give his students a better understanding of Colombian culture.

At first, Garcia inquired about “Dangerous Loves” at ISU’s Instructional Technology Services, but he said he was unsuccessful there and turned to the Student Union Board instead.

“Between ITS and SUB Films, they located the movies for me,” Garcia said.

The films were found through an organization in New York City, the Instituto Cervantes, an agency of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Garcia said. The Instituto also organizes other programs to promote Spanish culture and languages, he said.

Garcia emphasized the purpose of this series is educational, despite criticism of the films as “racy” and “objectionable” to some viewers. In a news release, the series was described as “a frenzy of obsessions and dangerous loves.”

“People are getting the idea that a porno-showing is going on. But that’s not it,” Garcia said. “I wanted to show a different aspect, and a good aspect, of the Colombian culture.”

He said Colombia is a complex country, with a culture running deeper than the frequent drug traffickers and terrorists seen on the evening news.

“The idea is to counteract the stereotype we get from the mass media,” Garcia said.

All the films in the series are in Spanish with English subtitles and are free and open to the public.

Anyone who needs special assistance to attend the films should call Joyce Packwood, coordinator for disability resources, at 294-1020.

Garcia Marquez’s much-acclaimed works include “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” written in 1967, and “El Otono del Patriarca,” written in 1976.

The scripts from “Dangerous Loves” are also incorporated in “Doce Cuentos Perigrinos” (“Strange Pilgrims: Twelve Stories”), Garcia’s 1992 collection of short stories. Garcia won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, and his latest novel is “Noticia de Sequestro,” the story of a kidnapping.

Another ISU Spanish professor, Eugenio Matibag, who teaches literature, will give a pre-show introduction Wednesday night with more information on Garcia Marquez.

The other films in the series are:

• “Un Hombre Muy Viejo con unas Alas Enormes” (“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”) — Thursday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. in Mackay 117.

• “Fabula de la Bella Palomera” (“Fable of the Beautiful Pigeon Fancier”) — Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in Carver 1.

• “El Verano de la Senora Forbes” (“Summer of Mrs. Forbes”) — Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. in Carver 1.

• “Yo Soy el Que tu Buscas” (“I’m the One You’re Looking For”) — Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. in Mackay 117.