THE IMAX THEATER IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO

Question: In San Antonio, what can you see that is bigger, louder, and almost as scary as it was in 1836? Answer: The Battle of the Alamo! The River Center IMAX Theater began showing the story of the battle in 2006.

An IMAX movie is like no other. The sound is all around you in a multispeaker sound system. The screen is huge-up to 8 stories tall and 120 feet wide!

When the show begins, the pictures and sounds seem to swallow you up. You feel as though you are inside the Alamo. You see Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and the other 187 Texans getting ready to fight the Mexican tropos led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

The Alamo was built as a church misión. It’s not a strong fort, and Santa Anna’s soldiers are fierce fighters. The fighting starts. Guns fire over and over. You cover your ears. Soldiers on both sides Yell. Crash-rumble-some of the mission walls fall! Then, the shooting stops. You hear only the voices of the Mexican soldiers and the noise of their horses. Santa Anna has won.

The Battle of the Alamo is over. So is the movie. The theater lights come on and you realize where you are. But, you also realize where you were. For 48 minutes you were back in 1836 with Santa Anna and Davy Crockett.

Later, when you see what is left of the Alamo, you think: I was there!

Adapted from: Abbs, Brian et al., (2008)Postcards 3, Second Edition, United Kingdom: Longman.