''Angelitos negros'' (English: Little Black Angels) is a 1970 Mexican melodrama written and directed by

Joselito Rodríguez Joselito Rodríguez (1907–1985) was a Mexican screenwriter and film director.Biltereyst & Gennari p.76 Selected filmography Director * ''The Priest's Secret'' (1941) * '' Angelitos negros'' (1948) * '' When Children Sin'' (1952) * ''Black Skull ...

and starring

Manuel López Ochoa Manuel López Ochoa (7 July 1933 in Torno Largo, Tabasco, Mexico – 25 October 2011 in Los Angeles, United States) was a Mexican actor. Filmography *''El crisol'' (1964), a telenovela *''The Bandits (film)'' (1967) as Valdez *''Chucho el roto'' ...

, Martha Rangel,

Titina Romay Titina is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Titina De Filippo (1898–1963), Italian actress and playwright * Titina Loizidou, party in a landmark European legal case * Titina Mocoroa (d. 2001), Argentine physicist * ...

, and American actress

Juanita Moore Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Supporting Actress category at a ...

, whose voice was dubbed to Spanish.Staggs, p. 217García Riera, p. 1967 The film is a remake of the 1948 film of the same name, also directed by Joselito Rodríguez, in which Titina Romay played the role of the black daughter in blackface. Rangel and Romay were the director's daughters.

Plot

Juan Carlos Ruiz (Manuel López Ochoa) is a singer who meets Ana Luisa de la Fuente (Martha Rangel), who works at an all-girls school. Juan Carlos begins to court Ana Luisa, who soon starts to demonstrate prejudice against black people, criticizing the fact that Juan Carlos performs alongside black artists like Isabel (Titina Romay, in blackface), a Puerto Rican black woman who loves him. Ana Luisa has a black nanny called Mercé (Juanita Moore) that has cared for her all her life. Though Ana Luisa is fond of her, she mistreats her for being a black servant. Mercé opposes the relationship between Ana Luisa and Juan Carlos and their engagement. She tearfully confesses to Father Francisco (Carlos Martínez Baena) that she is Ana Luisa's real mother. She had an affair with Mr. de la Fuente, her widowed boss. Since Ana Luisa could

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits *Mountain pass, a lower place in a mountai ...

for white, Mercé renounced her motherhood, continuing to work as a servant to be near her. Ana Luisa marries Juan Carlos, but asks Isabel and Mercé to not come to the wedding ceremony. During a tour, Ana Luisa learns she is pregnant and they return to Mexico, where she gives birth to a daughter, Belén (Juanita Hernández). At the hospital, Ana Luisa is horrified to find out her baby is black. At first, Juan Carlos thinks it's a bad joke, but after learning the truth from Mercé and Father Francisco, he accepts having a black daughter and agrees to "take the blame" for her skin color. The racist Ana Luisa rejects Belén, who suffers because her mother does not love her. At one point, Belén tries to win over her mother by painting her face white. When Mercé falls ill, Juan Carlos asks Isabel to take care of Belén because her mother does not give her any attention. Tragedy occurs when Ana Luisa, mistakenly believing that Isabel is Juan Carlos's lover, decides to abandon her family. Mercé tries to stop her, but Ana Luisa reacts violently and throws her down the stairs by accident. As she falls down, Juan Carlos tells Ana Luisa that Mercé is her mother. A repentant Ana Luisa begs for Mercé's forgiveness right before she dies.

Cast

as Juan Carlos Flores * Martha Rangel as Ana Luisa de la Fuente *

as Isabel Contreras *

as Nanny Mercé * Juanita Hernández Mejia as Belén * Neftalí López Paez as Mr. López Paez * Norma Jiménez Pons as Maru Espinosa *

Carlos Martínez Baena Carlos Martínez Baena (7 May 1889 – 29 May 1971) was a Spanish-Mexican actor. At a young age he moved to Mexico with his family where he became a journalist. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1931 to 1970. Selected filmography Re ...

as Father Francisco *

Fedora Capdevila A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

as Nurse *

Carlos Bravo y Fernández Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewher ...

as Carlillos, reporter (uncredited) *

as Don Mauricio Badú (uncredited) *Jesús Magaña as himself, photographer (uncredited)

References

Bibliography

*McCann, Bob. ''Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television''. McFarland, 2009. *Staggs, Sam. ''Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life''. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2009. *García Riera, Emilio. ''Breve historia del cine mexicano: primer siglo, 1897–1997''. Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, 1998.

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0321237
Performing Blackness in Mexican Cinema: ''Angelitos negros'' (1970)
scholarly video essay about the film 1970 drama films 1970 films Mexican drama films Remakes of Mexican films Films about interracial romance Films about race and ethnicity Films about racism Films directed by Joselito Rodríguez 1970s Mexican films