María Golajovski Zaira (4 December 1936 – 14 May 2022), better known as América Alonso, was a Venezuelan actress. She had an artistic career of more than four decades, acting in

telenovelas A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

, theater and films.

Career

She was the only child of immigrants of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, an opera singer and an industrial engineer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the Nazi invasion of the country, she and her family were interned in a concentration camp. Her father died before she was seven years old. In 1948 she emigrated to Venezuela, where she attended elementary school at the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe School in Sabana Grande, Caracas. A few meters from the school, at the performing arts school, she channeled her artistic interest through the actress and theater teacher

Juana Sujo Juana Sujo (1913–1961) was an Argentine stage and film actress. Sujo was a noted stage actress, and in 1939 appeared in her first film. In 1948 she left Argentina due to her opposition to the regime of Juan Perón and settled in Venezuela where ...

, with whom she also improved her Spanish. She began her training in radio; later, she had her theatrical debut with Nuestra Natacha in 1952 and worked in Alejandro Casona's Teatro del Pueblo, and then in television, in Televisora Nacional de Venezuela. Later, in 1953, she participated in the launching of

Radio Caracas Televisión Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV and sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas) is a Venezuelan over-the-top streaming service and formerly a free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo and ow ...

(RCTV), with ''Los Gavilanes''. Her first contract was for 800 bolivars per month. RCTV suggested that she adopt the name América, after her emigration destiny, and to change her Yugoslavian surname for that of the Cuban dancer

Alicia Alonso Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is bes ...

. One of her most remarkable roles was in the film '' Cangrejo'', directed by

Román Chalbaud Román Chalbaud (10 October 1931 – 12 September 2023) was a Venezuelan film director, screenwriter, and prominent playwright. Starting work in television after prestigious training, Chalbaud moved into making films before the industry took o ...

, as well as '' La Gata Borracha'', also directed by Chalbaud; '' Una noche oriental'', by Miguel Curiel; and '' Seguro está el infierno'', by José Alcalde. Among her participations in television productions are ''

Sopotocientos ''Sopotocientos'' was a Venezuelan children's television program broadcast in the early 1970s. Program Sopotocientos produced and broadcast in the early seventies by Televisora Nacional, channel 5. The series was similar in style to Sesame St ...

'', ''La Cruz del Diablo'', ''Sangre Indómita'', ''Soledad'', ''La Loba'', ''Cumbres Borrascosas'' and ''El Escándalo''. She also collaborated with the theatrical director Daniel Uribe Osío.

Personal life

Her first marriage in 1959 was with producer and publicist Mario Bertoul. From the union she had her sons Roberto and Alejandro Bertoul; one lives in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and the other in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

. Alonso also had four grandchildren. She later married Daniel Farías, who also dedicated himself to the theater arts. América lived with her children in Miami.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso, America 1936 births 2022 deaths Venezuelan television actresses Venezuelan actresses Venezuelan people of Yugoslav descent People from Kruševac