Bélgica Castro Sierra (; 6 March 1921 – 6 March 2020) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an stage, film, and television actress. During her career she participated in more than 100 plays. She also acted in numerous Chilean films, including ' (1944) by Jorge Délano and '' The Good Life'' (2008) by Andrés Wood. Under the direction of Ricardo Larraín she participated in '' Chile puede'' (2008), where she played a Russian scientist, a role for which she received the Paoa Award of the Viña del Mar International Film Festival for Best National Lead Actress and the APES Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also won the 1995 National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts.

Biography

Bélgica Castro, the daughter of Spanish anarchist parents, was born in Concepción and studied in

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...

. In 1940, she traveled to

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

to study Spanish at the of the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, where she joined the theater group Cadip. Then, along with other young artists led by Pedro de la Barra, she founded the in 1941. Hired by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, she spent 1949 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Having retired from the Theater of the University of Chile, she and Alejandro Sieveking formed their own company, El Teatro del Ángel. Subsequently, from 1974 until the end of 1984, they settled in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, where she also achieved notable successes with the same company. She was a teacher of the history of theater at the University of Chile's Theater School for 14 years, and of acting at the Theater School of the Catholic University of Chile and at the University of Costa Rica. In 1995, she was awarded the National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts. In 2001, she received the APES Award granted by the for her career. In 2007 she was nominated for the Altazor Award for Best Actress in Theater for her role in the play ''Cabeza de ovni'', and won it in 2013 for ''Todo pasajero debe descender''. She acted in numerous Chilean films, most notably ' (1944) by Jorge Délano; ''El final del juego'' (1970) by Luis Cornejo; ''

Little White Dove ''Little White Dove'' () is a 1973 Chilean teen dramedy film directed by Raúl Ruiz (director), Raúl Ruiz. It is loosely based on the bestselling 1971 teen novel ''Palomita Blanca'' by Enrique Lafourcade. As a result of the 1973 Chilean coup d' ...

'' (1973), '' Days in the Country'' (2004) and the miniseries '' La Recta Provincia'' (2007) by Raúl Ruiz; and ' (1999) and '' The Good Life'' (2008) by Andrés Wood. Under the direction of Ricardo Larraín she participated in '' Chile puede'' (2008), where she played a Russian scientist, a role for which she received the Paoa Award of the Viña del Mar International Film Festival for Best National Lead Actress and the APES Award for Best Supporting Actress. For her role in the film ', the debut of director Sebastián Silva, she won the 2008 Altazor Award for National Arts in the category Best Film Actress. In 2009, she received the same award for her role in Andrés Wood's ''The Good Life''. In 2010, she returned to the big screen in the Sebastián Silva film ''

Old Cats ''Old Cats'' () is a 2010 Chilean drama film directed by Sebastián Silva. Plot Isidora (Bélgica Castro) and Enrique (Alejandro Sieveking) are an elderly couple living in a central apartment in Santiago. Isidora has started exhibiting symptoms ...

'', along with her husband Alejandro Sieveking, Claudia Celedón, and Catalina Saavedra. Her lead role earned her the Best Actress award at the 16th Festivalisimo, the Ibero-Latin American Film Festival of Montreal, and a third Altazor for film acting. Castro died on 6 March 2020, her 99th birthday, which fell one day after the death of her husband Alejandro Sieveking, who died at age 85 on 5 March.

Filmography

Film

* ' (1944) * ''El final del juego'' (1970) * ''

'' (1973) – Abuela * ''Sin ceder'' (1998) * ' (1998) * ' (1999) – Margarita * '' Days in the Country'' (2004) – Paulita * '' Life Kills Me'' (2007) – The Old Woman (The Death) * '' Chile puede'' (2008) * '' The Good Life'' (2008) * ''

'' (2010) – Isidora * ''Viejos amores'' (2016) – Herself * '' Hecho bolsa'' (2019) – Mother

Television

* ' * ' (1972) – Eduviges * '' La Recta Provincia'' (2007) – Rosalba * ''Litoral'' (2008) – Señora

Awards

APES Awards

Altazor Awards

Other awards

* 1995, National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts * 1999, Rectoral Distinction Medal of the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

* 2002, Professor Pedro de la Barra Distinction Medal of Cultural Merit * 2008, Viña del Mar International Film Festival Paoa Award * 2010, Pedro Sienna Award for Best Lead Actress in ''

'' * 2015, UMCE Armando Rubio Culture Prize * 2016, Award for Best National Career * 2016,

Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit The Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit () was created in 2004 by the National Council of Culture and the Arts (Chile), National Council of Culture and the Arts of the government of Chile, as part of the commemoration of the 100th ann ...

* 2017, Distinguished Public Person Medal from the Municipality of Providencia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Belgica 1921 births Chilean film actresses Chilean people of Spanish descent Chilean stage actresses Chilean theatre directors 2020 deaths People from Concepción, Chile Academic staff of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile University of Chile alumni Academic staff of the University of Chile Academic staff of the University of Costa Rica Chilean women theatre directors 20th-century Chilean actresses 21st-century Chilean actresses