Cinema Of Mexico
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Mexican cinema dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President
Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ideal image of it. With the outbreak of the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
in 1910, Mexican and foreign makers of
silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...
seized the opportunity to document its leaders and events. From 1915 onward, Mexican cinema focused on narrative film. During the
Golden Age of Mexican cinema The Golden Age of Mexican cinema ( es, Época de Oro del Cine Mexicano) is a period in the history of the Cinema of Mexico between 1930 and 1969 when the Mexican film industry reached high levels of production, quality and economic success of its ...
from 1936 to 1956, Mexico all but dominated the Latin American film industry. The
Guadalajara International Film Festival The Guadalajara International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara) is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara since 1986. The presence in Guadalajara of delegates from other impor ...
is the most prestigious Latin American film festival and is held annually In
Guadalajara, Mexico Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaja ...
. Mexico has twice won the highest honor at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, having won the ''Grand Prix du Festival International du Film'' for ''
María Candelaria ''María Candelaria'' is a 1943 Mexican romantic film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand ...
'' in 1946 and the
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
in 1961 for ''
Viridiana ''Viridiana'' () is a 1961 Spanish-Mexican film directed by Luis Buñuel and produced by Gustavo Alatriste. It is loosely based on the 1895 novel ''Halma'' by Benito Pérez Galdós. The film was the co-winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1961 Canne ...
'', more than any other Latin American nation. In 2019, ''
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
'' became the first Mexican film and fourth Latin American film winning
the Oscar The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for best
foreign language film World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...
. Roma also won the
BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards, representing the best films of 1947, but until ...
at the
72nd British Academy Film Awards The 72nd British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 10 February 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2018 in film, 2018. Presented by the British Academy of F ...
. Emilio "El Indio" Fernández was rumored to be the model for the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the
Oscar statuette The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
. According to the legend, in 1928 MGM's art director
Cedric Gibbons Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an Irish-American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the ...
, one of the original Motion Picture Academy members, was tasked with creating the Academy Award trophy. In need of a model for his statuette, Gibbons was introduced by his future wife, actress
Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...
, to Fernández. Reportedly, Fernández had to be persuaded to pose nude for what is today known as the "Oscar".


History


1896–1911: Silent films; the Porfiriato

Shortly after the first moving picture was viewed in 1895 using
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
's
kinetoscope The Kinetoscope is an precursors of film, early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic ...
and the invention of the
cinematographe Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the Cin ...
projector by
Auguste Lumière Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) was a French engineer, industrialist, biologist, and illusionist. During 1894–1895, he and his brother Louis invented an animated photographic camera and projectio ...
, Mexicans began queuing in cinemas in the capital to see international one-minute films such as ''The Card Players'', ''Arrival of a Train'', and ''The Magic Hat''.Mora, Carl J. ''Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society 1896–1988'', p. 5,6. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. The cinematograph arrived to Mexico seven months after its first projection in France, brought in by Claude Ferdinand Bon Bernard and
Gabriel Veyre Gabriel Veyre was an early film director and photographer born in France, but mainly known for his work in Mexico, Indochina and Morocco. Biography Veyre graduated in pharmacy from Lyon University. In 1896, he traveled along with Claude Ferdi ...
(the latter had been contracted by the Lumierè brothers to spread the cinematograph across México, Venezuela, the Guaianas and the Antilles). Mexico entered production in the
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
industry with several movies, but many of the films up to the 1920s have been lost and were not well documented. Film in México continued to expand quickly after its arrival in Mexico. On 6 August 1896, President
Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
invited Bon Bernard and Veyre to his residence at
Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has s ...
, and eight days later, the first projection for the press was made in what is now
Madero Street Francisco I. Madero Avenue, commonly known as simply Madero Street, is a geographically and historically significant pedestrian street of Mexico City and a major thoroughfare of the historic city center. It has an east–west orientation from Zó ...
. This projection included films by the Lumierè brothers such as
L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat ''L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat'' (translated from French into English as ''The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station'', ''Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat'' (US) and ''The Arrival of the Mail Train'', and in the United Kingdom as ' ...
, and on 15 August, a projection was made for the general public. President Díaz recognized the importance of cinema and appeared in many films placing him at the center of action with his cabinet ministers; in a parade; and in the zócalo. In 1906, he is seen in ''La entrevista de los presidentes Díaz-Taft'', the first-ever meeting of a U.S. president with Mexico's, one of the first filmed reportages produced in Mexico. It was filmed by the Alva brothers. The first fiction film to be created in Mexico was based on a recreation of the duel between two deputies, called ''Duelo a pistola en el bosque de Chapultepec'' (Gun duel in the Chapultepec forest). Mexican cinema continued to become more available across the country, thanks in part to businessmen such as
Guillermo Becerril Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player *Guillermo Ar ...
, Carlos Mongrand and
Salvador Toscano Salvador Toscano Barragán (22 March 187214 April 1947), also known as Salvador Toscano, was a director, producer and distributor of early Mexican cinema films. He was Mexico's first filmmaker.Standish, pp. 120–121Raat, p. 35, ''The fath ...
. The origin of early Mexican film-making is generally associated with Salvador Toscano Barragán, who introduced the filmed reportage. In 1898 Toscano made the country's first film with a plot, titled ''
Don Juan Tenorio ''Don Juan Tenorio: Drama religioso-fantástico en dos partes'' (Don Juan Tenorio: Religious-Fantasy Drama in Two Parts) is a play written in 1844 by José Zorrilla. It is the more romantic of the two principal Spanish-language literary interpr ...
''. During the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
, Toscano recorded several clips of the battles, which would become a full-length documentary in 1950 under the title ''
Memories of a Mexican ''Memories of a Mexican'' ( es, Memorias de un Mexicano) is a 1950 Mexican documentary film directed by Salvador Toscano and Carmen Toscano. It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. The film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive ...
'', assembled by his daughter. Other short films were either created or influenced from French film-makers. By 1906, 16 movie theaters opened their doors to accommodate the popularity of cinema in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. ''Carpas'', or tent shows, were popular beginning in 1911 where lower-class citizens would perform picaresque humor and theatrical plays, a place for training for aspiring actors. Politically affiliated films appeared in 1908; these would be deemed propagandistic by today's standards. Significant battles were filmed and broadcast during the Revolution, which fueled Mexicans' excitement in cinema.Mora p. 17-21 In addition, the first intents to formalize the Mexican cinematic industry were made between 1905 and 1906, with the creation of the first Mexican distributing companies. Some of the most important companies were Empresa Cinematográfica Mexicana, American Amusement Company, Compañía Explotadora de Cinematógrafos and
Unión Cinematográfica Unión may refer to: Places * Unión, Paraguay * Unión Municipality, Falcón, Venezuela * Unión, Montevideo, Uruguay * Unión Cantinil, Huehuetenango, Guatemala * Unión, San Luis, Argentina * Unión Department, Córdoba Province, Argentina * Un ...
.


1911–1917: The Mexican Revolution

The popularity that cinema had experienced in the early 20th century continued to grow, and by 1911 fourteen new movie houses were built. During this period documentary techniques were mastered, as is evident in the Alva brothers' production entitled ''Revolución orozquista'' (1912). The film was shot in the camps of the rebel and federal forces during the battle between General
Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...
and the rebel leader
Pascual Orozco Pascual Orozco Vázquez, Jr. (in contemporary documents, sometimes spelled "Oroszco") (28 January 1882 – 30 August 1915) was a Mexican revolutionary leader who rose up to support Francisco I. Madero in late 1910 to depose long-time presid ...
. The rise of cinema plateaued due to the lack of distributors and the difficulty to make new material. This in addition to the dangers that the inflammability of film resulted in the closing of many of the ''Carpas''. The cinematic industry was reduced to small companies, with Carlos Mongrand standing out because of films such as Desfiles de tropas en San Luis Potosí, Carnaval de Mérida and Aventuras del sexteto Uranga. Despite the relative advancement of cinema during this period, the moralistic and paternalist ideology of President Madero led to his campaign to save the lower classes from immorality through
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
. In late September and early October 1911, city council members appointed additional movie house inspectors, whose wages would be paid by the exhibitioners. Furthermore, the head of the Entertainment Commission, proposed the implementation of censorship; however,
Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...
's ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'' in the
Ten Tragic Days The Ten Tragic Days ( es, La Decena Trágica) during the Mexican Revolution is the name now given to a multi-day coup d'etat in Mexico City by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9 - 19 Fe ...
of February 1913 prevented the move to legislate censorship. Although Huerta's rule was brief, from February 1913 to July 1914, Mexican cinema experienced significant changes within this period such as the further establishment of censorship and a shift away from documentary films to entertainment films. The Alva brothers' production of ''Aniversario del fallecimineto de la suegra de Enhart'' ("Anniversary of the Death of Enhart's Mother-in-Law") is indicative of the change in the aim of Mexican cinematographers. The Alva brothers produced films such as ''La entrada de Madero a la capital'' ("Entry of Madero in the Capital) with the use of Indalecio Noriega Colombres's inventions, which allowed for a
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
to be synchronized with the images projected. In regards to censorship, the Huerta government imposed a moral and political decree of censorship in approximately June 1913. This decree was imposed a few days after ''convencionista'' soldiers shot at the screen during a viewing of ''El aguila y la serpiente''. The decree stated that films that showed the following were prohibited: "views representing crimes, if they do not include punishment of the guilty parties, views which directly or indirectly insult an authority or person, morality or good manners, provoke a crime or offence, or in any way disturb the public order (Mora 70)." As a result of the limitations placed on film content as well as the radicalization of the parties involved in the armed conflicts, cameramen and producers began to display their opinion through the films they produced. For instance, favoritism towards the
Zapatistas Zapatista(s) may refer to: * Liberation Army of the South The Liberation Army of the South ( es, Ejército Libertador del Sur, ELS) was a guerrilla force led for most of its existence by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolut ...
was illustrated in the film ''Sangre Hermana'' (Sister Blood, 1914). Due to the sensational content of this film, it is evident that the producers had no interest in displaying the events in such a way that the audience could come to their own conclusions.


1917–1936: Postrevolutionary film making and first sound film

The cinematic productions of this period were reflective of the Italians style ''film d'art'', which were fiction-based melodramas. The film ''La Luz'' (The Light, Ezequiel Carrasco, 1917, starring
Emma Padilla Emma Padilla (March 8, 1900 – July 2, 1966) was Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south ...
) was the first film that attempted to adopt this style, even though it was viewed as a plagiarism of Piero Fosco's ''Il Fuoco''. Paranaguá attributes the influence that the Italian had on the Mexican cinema with the similarities between the situations of both countries. Both countries were in a state of chaos and disorder – there was a war in Italy and a revolution in Mexico (Paranaguá 70). Once again censorship was re-established on October 1, 1919. Films which illustrated acts of immortality or induced sympathy for the criminal were prohibited. In 1917, the former
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
star
Mimí Derba María Herminia Pérez de León, better known as Mimí Derba (9 October 1893 – 14 July 1953) was a Mexican actress, screenwriter, and film director, considered the first female film director in Mexico. Early life At the age of seventee ...
, founded the Azteca Studios, which produced notable films between 1917 and 1923. The most successful of these was ''
En defensa Propia ''En defensa Propia'' ("In Self Defence") is a 1917 Mexican film directed by Joaquín Coss. It stars Mimí Derba María Herminia Pérez de León, better known as Mimí Derba (9 October 1893 – 14 July 1953) was a Mexican actress, scr ...
'' (1921). Government budget had to be trimmed as a result of the rebellion and cinematographic departments of the Ministry of Education and Agriculture were cut. By 1924, narrative films were at an all-time low since 1917. During the 1920s very few movies were produced, given the political climate that was still very unsettled and the resurgence of the American film industry after World War I. Notable Mexican movie stars moved to the United States. Stars such as
Ramón Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...
,
Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...
and
Lupe Vélez María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944), known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican ...
, became principal stars of notable Hollywood films in the 1920s and 1930s. Other Mexican stars appeared in numerous movies which were merely Spanish-language versions of
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
movies. In 1994, the Mexican magazine ''Somos'' published a list of "The 100 best movies of the cinema of Mexico" in its 100th edition. The oldest film selected was" " El automóvil gris" (The Grey Car). To make the selection, the magazine invited 25 specialists in Mexican cinematography, among which critics stand out Jorge Ayala Blanco, Nelson Carro and Tomás Pérez Turrent, the historians Eduardo de la Vega Alfaro and Gustavo García Gutiérrez. The top twelve films in order chosen from the best and on are
Let's Go with Pancho Villa ''Let's Go with Pancho Villa'' (Spanish: ''Vámonos con Pancho Villa'') is a Mexican motion picture directed by Fernando de Fuentes in 1936, the last of the director's '' Revolution Trilogy'', besides '' El prisionero trece'' and '' El compadre ...
,
Los Olvidados ''Los olvidados'' (, Spanish: ''The Forgotten Ones''; known in the United States as ''The Young and the Damned'') is a 1950 Mexican teen crime film directed by Luis Buñuel. It was filmed at Tepeyac Studios and on location in Mexico City. Prod ...
,
Godfather Mendoza ''Godfather Mendoza'' (Spanish: ''El compadre Mendoza'') is a 1934 Mexican film. It was directed by Fernando de Fuentes, and is the second of his '' Revolution Trilogy'', preceded by '' El prisionero trece'' and followed by '' Vámonos con Panch ...
,
Aventurera ''Aventurera'' ("Adventuress" in English) is a 1950 Mexican drama film directed by Alberto Gout and starring Ninón Sevilla and Andrea Palma. It's considered a masterpiece of the ''Rumberas film''. The film features Pedro Vargas and Ana María ...
, A Family Like Many Others,
Nazarín ''Nazarín'' (, ) is a 1959 Mexican satirical drama film directed by Luis Buñuel and co-written between Buñuel and Julio Alejandro, adapted from the eponymous novel of Benito Pérez Galdós. The film received the international prize at the 19 ...
, El, The Woman of the Port,
The Place Without Limits ''The Place Without Limits'' ( es, El lugar sin límites, also released as ''Hell Without Limits'') is a 1978 Mexican drama film directed by Arturo Ripstein, produced in Mexico and based on the 1966 novel of the same name written by Chilean Jos ...
,
Here's the Point ''You're Missing the Point'' (Spanish: ''Ahí está el detalle'') is a 1940 Mexican comedy film starring Cantinflas. It was produced by Jesús Grovas and directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, and also features Joaquín Pardavé, Sara García, Sofía Á ...
,
Champion Without a Crown ''Champion Without a Crown'' (Spanish: ''Campeón sin corona'') is a 1946 Mexican sports film directed by Alejandro Galindo and starring David Silva, Amanda del Llano and Carlos López Moctezuma.Segre p.125-26 It is set in the world of boxing. C ...
, and Enamorada. In the 1930s, once peace and a degree of political stability were achieved, the film industry took off in Mexico and several movies still experimenting with the new medium were made.
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
's attempt at creating Spanish language films for Latin America failed mainly due to the combination of Hispanic actors from different ethnicities exhibiting various accents unfamiliar to the Mexican people. Early Mexican cinematographers were influenced and encouraged by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
director
Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...
's visit to the country in 1930. In 1931 the first Mexican ''talkie'' movie, an adaptation of the
Federico Gamboa Federico Gamboa Iglesias (22 December 1864 in Mexico City – 15 August 1939 in Mexico City) was a writer and diplomat from Mexico. He has been considered as one of the top representatives of Naturalism in México. Gamboa wrote novels, thea ...
's novel ''
Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
'', directed by
Antonio Moreno Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. Early life and silent fi ...
and starred by the Mexican-Hollywood star
Lupita Tovar Guadalupe Natalia Tovar (27 July 1910 – 12 November 2016), known professionally as Lupita Tovar, was a Mexican-born American actress best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish-language version of '' Drácula'', filmed in Los Angeles b ...
, was realized. Until Sergei Eisenstein's '' ¡Que viva México!'' (1931), Mexican audiences were exposed to popular melodramas, crude comedies, as well as Spanish-language versions of Hollywood movies. Eisenstein's visit to Mexico inspired directors like
Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 October 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best kn ...
and cameraman
Gabriel Figueroa Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (April 24, 1907 – April 27, 1997) was a Mexican cinematographer who is regarded as one of the greatest cinematographers of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He has worked in over 200 films, which cover a broad range of ...
, and the number of Mexican-made films increased and improved. During the 1930s the Mexican film industry achieved considerable success with movies like '' La Mujer del Puerto'' (1934),
Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and play ...
's '' Redes'' (1934), ''Janitzio'' (1934), and ''
Dos Monjes ''Two Monks'' (Spanish: ''Dos monjes'') is a 1934 Mexican Expressionism (film), expressionist melodrama film directed by Juan Bustillo Oro and starring Víctor Urruchúa and Carlos Villatoro. Production Filmed in black-and-white on 35 mm movie fil ...
'' (1934).


1936–1956: The Golden Age

The so-called ''Golden Age of Mexican cinema'' began in 1936 with the premiere of ''
Allá en el Rancho Grande ''Allá en el Rancho Grande'' ( en, Out on the Great Ranch) is a 1936 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Fernando de Fuentes and starring Tito Guízar and Esther Fernández. The film is considered to be the one that started the Golden A ...
'', and ended in 1956. During the 1940s the full potential of the industry developed. Actors and directors became popular icons and even figures with political influence on diverse spheres of Mexican life. The industry received a boost as a consequence of Hollywood redirecting its efforts towards propagandistic films and European countries focusing on World War II, which left an open field for other industries. Mexico dominated the film market in Latin America for most of the 1940s without competition from the United States film industry. During World War II movie production in Mexico tripled. The fact that
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
had
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
governments made the Mexican movie industry the world's largest producer of Spanish-language films in the 1940. Although the Mexican government was reactionary, it encouraged the production of films that would help articulate a true Mexican
identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...
, in contrast to the view often seen in Hollywood movies. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the government become more involved in promoting distribution of films. The Golden Age of Mexican cinema took place during the 1940s and beyond. The most prominent actor during this period was
Mario Moreno Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely-accomplished Mexican comedian and is ce ...
, better known as Cantinflas. The film ''
Ahí está el detalle ''You're Missing the Point'' (Spanish: ''Ahí está el detalle'') is a 1940 Mexican comedy film starring Cantinflas. It was produced by Jesús Grovas and directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, and also features Joaquín Pardavé, Sara García, Sofía Á ...
'' in 1940 made Cantinflas a household name and he became known as the "Mexican
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
" . His films were ubiquitous in Spain and Latin America and influenced many contemporary actors. Not until the appearance of " Tin-Tan" in the late 1940s did his popularity wane.Mora p. 56. Mexican actresses also were a focus in Mexican cinema.
Sara García Sara García Hidalgo (8 September 1895 – 21 November 1980) was a Mexican actress who made her biggest mark during the "Golden Age of Mexican cinema". During the 1940s and 1950s, she often played the part of a no-nonsense but lovable grandm ...
was the "grandmother of Mexico". Her career began with silent films in 1910, moved to theatre, and ultimately the film that made her famous, ''No basta ser madre'' (''It's Not Enough to be a Mother'') in 1937.
Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...
, another dramatic actress, became well known after her Hollywood career in the 1930s and for her roles in a couple of films directed by Emilio Fernández.Mora p. 59. Stock characters also began to form during the Golden Age. The charro, plead, and the poor peasant are common characters throughout many films.
María Félix María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña (; 8 April 1914 – 8 April 2002) was a Mexican actress and singer. Along with Pedro Armendáriz and Dolores del Río, she was one of the most successful figures of Latin American cinema in the 1940s an ...
(well known as "La Doña"), was a big star after her role in the movie '' Doña Bárbara'' in 1943. She gained a higher popularity in European countries. In 1943, the Mexican industry produced seventy films, the most for a Spanish speaking country. Two notable films released in 1943 by director
Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 October 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best kn ...
were ''
Flor silvestre Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla (16 August 1930 – 25 November 2020), known professionally as Flor Silvestre, was a Mexican singer and actress. She was one of the most prominent and successful performers of Mexican and Latin American music, and wa ...
'' (1942) and ''
María Candelaria ''María Candelaria'' is a 1943 Mexican romantic film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand ...
'' (1944), both films starring prestigious Hollywood actress Dolores del Río. The movies were triumphs for the director and for internationally acclaimed cinematographer,
Gabriel Figueroa Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (April 24, 1907 – April 27, 1997) was a Mexican cinematographer who is regarded as one of the greatest cinematographers of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He has worked in over 200 films, which cover a broad range of ...
especially with ''María Candelaria'' winning the top prize at the Cannes Festival.Forging a National and Popular Art Cinema in Mexico: ''María Candelaria''
Other celebrated Fernández films were '' La perla'' (1945), ''Enamorada'' (1946), the American-Mexican production '' The Fugitive'' (1947), directed with
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
, '' Río Escondido'' (1947), ''
La Malquerida ''La malquerida'' (The Unloved Woman) is a Mexican telenovela created for Televisa by Ximena Suárez and produced by José Alberto Castro, based on the 1913 Spanish play titled '' The Unloved Woman'' by Jacinto Benavente. The series originally ...
'' (1949) and ''
Pueblerina ''Pueblerina'' is a 1949 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Fernández. It was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Columba Domínguez - Paloma * Roberto Cañedo - Aurelio Rodríguez * Arturo Soto Rangel - Priest * Manuel Don ...
'' (1949). In 1948 there was another "first" for Mexican cinema: The trilogy of ''
Nosotros los Pobres ''Nosotros los pobres'' ("We, the Poor") is a 1948 Mexican drama film directed by Ismael Rodríguez, and starring Pedro Infante, Evita Muñoz "Chachita" and Blanca Estela Pavón. The film is first in a trilogy of movies, with Ustedes los ricos f ...
'', ''
Ustedes los ricos ''Ustedes los ricos (You the Rich)'' is a 1948 Mexican film. The film is the second in a trilogy produced during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, starting with '' Nosotros los Pobres (We the Poor)'' earlier in 1948 and followed by ''Pepe the Bul ...
'' and ''
Pepe el Toro ''Pepe the Bull'' ( es, Pepe El Toro) is a 1953 Mexican sports drama film directed by Ismael Rodríguez and starring Pedro Infante, Evita Muñoz "Chachita" and Amanda del Llano. It was the last in a trilogy of films featuring Infante and Muñoz ...
'', starring Mexican icons
Pedro Infante Pedro Infante Cruz (; 18 November 1917 – 15 April 1957) was a Mexican ranchera music singer and actor, whose career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema. His popularity spread across Latin America. Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa ...
and Evita Muñoz ("Chachita") and directed by
Ismael Rodríguez Ismael Rodríguez (October 19, 1917 – August 7, 2004) was a Mexican film director. Rodríguez rose to fame due to the movies he directed starring Pedro Infante, and directed many major stars, including Dolores del Río, María Félix, To ...
. The only other comedian with the same level of popularity as Cantinflas was German Valdez " Tin-Tan". Tin-Tan played a ''
pachuco Pachucos are male members of a counterculture associated with zoot suit fashion, jazz and swing music, a distinct dialect known as '' caló'', and self-empowerment in rejecting assimilation into Anglo-American society that emerged in El Paso, ...
'' character appearing with a zoot suit in his films. Unlike Cantinflas, Tin-Tan never played as a ''pelado'', but as a Mexican-American. He employed pachuco slang in many of his movies and frequently used
Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...
, a dialect that many Mexican residents disdained. In the middle of the 1940s, the Spanish director
Juan Orol Juan Rogelio García García, better known as Juan Orol (August 4, 1897 in Lalín, Pontevedra, Spain – May 26, 1988 in Mexico City, Mexico) was a Mexican-Spanish actor, producer, screenwriter and film director. He was known as ''The Kin ...
started the production of films with Cuban and Mexican dancers. This cinematographic genre was named "
Rumberas film The Rumberas film (in Spanish, Cine de rumberas) was a film genre that flourished in Mexico, in the so-called Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. Its main stars were the so-called '' rumberas'', dancers of Afro-Caribbean musical r ...
", and was very popular with the Latin American audiences. The stars of this exotic genre were
María Antonieta Pons Maria Antonieta Pons (November 6, 1922 in Havana, Cuba – August 20, 2004 in Mexico City) was a Cuban-born Mexican film actress and dancer. She was the first actress in the ''Rumberas films'' in the 1940s and 1950s, in the Golden Age of Mexican ...
,
Meche Barba Meche Barba (born Mercedes Barba Feito; September 24, 1922 – January 14, 2000) was an American-born Mexican film actress and dancer of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was considered one of the icons of the "Rumbera ...
,
Ninón Sevilla Emelia Pérez Castellanos (10 November 19211 January 2015), known professionally as Ninón Sevilla, was a Cuban-Mexican actress and dancer. Early life Sevilla was born and raised in Centro Habana, a popular section of Havana. As a youth, she th ...
,
Amalia Aguilar Amalia Isabel Rodríguez Carriera (3 July 1924 – 8 November 2021), known professionally as Amalia Aguilar, was a Cuban-Mexican dancer, actress and comedian. Early life Amalia Isabel Rodríguez Carriera was born in Matanzas, Cuba. She and her ...
and
Rosa Carmina Rosa Carmina Riverón Jiménez (born November 19, 1929) is a Cuban-Mexican actress and dancer. She was discovered in Cuba by the Spanish filmmaker Juan Orol, and made her debut in Mexican cinema in Orol's film ''A Woman from the East'' in 1946. ...
. Other relevant films during these years include ''Espaldas mojadas'' (''Wetbacks'') by Alejandro Galindo, ''
Aventurera ''Aventurera'' ("Adventuress" in English) is a 1950 Mexican drama film directed by Alberto Gout and starring Ninón Sevilla and Andrea Palma. It's considered a masterpiece of the ''Rumberas film''. The film features Pedro Vargas and Ana María ...
'' a melodrama starred by
Ninón Sevilla Emelia Pérez Castellanos (10 November 19211 January 2015), known professionally as Ninón Sevilla, was a Cuban-Mexican actress and dancer. Early life Sevilla was born and raised in Centro Habana, a popular section of Havana. As a youth, she th ...
, ''Dos tipos de cuidado'' (1951), ''El Rebozo de Soledad'' (1952) and ''
Los Olvidados ''Los olvidados'' (, Spanish: ''The Forgotten Ones''; known in the United States as ''The Young and the Damned'') is a 1950 Mexican teen crime film directed by Luis Buñuel. It was filmed at Tepeyac Studios and on location in Mexico City. Prod ...
'' (''The Young and the Damned'') (1950), a story about impoverished children in Mexico City directed by the Mexican of Spanish ascendent director
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
, a very important figure in the course of the Mexican Cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. Some of the most important Buñuel's films in his Mexican period are '' Subida al cielo'' (1952), '' Él'' (1953), and '' Ensayo de un crimen'' (1955). The themes during those years, although mostly conventional comedies or dramas, touched all aspects of Mexican society, from the 19th century dictator
Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
and his court, to love stories always tainted by drama.


1960s through 1980s

See:
Luchador films Luchador films (or ''Lucha Libre films'') are Mexican professional wrestling/action/science-fiction/ horror films starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in Lucha Libre. The luchadores are portrayed as superheroes engaging in battles ...
, Ficheras films During the 1960s and 1970s many cult horror and action movies were produced with professional wrestler
El Santo Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), known professionally as El Santo or in English The Saint, was a Mexican luchador enmascarado (Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"), actor and folk hero. He is one of the mo ...
among others. Luis Buñuel released his last Mexican films: ''
El ángel exterminador ''The Exterminating Angel'' ( es, El ángel exterminador, links=no) is a 1962 Mexican surrealist film written and directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Silvia Pinal, and produced by Pinal's then-husband Gustavo Alatriste. It tells the story of a g ...
'' (1962) and ''
Simón del desierto ''Simon of the Desert'' ( es, Simón del desierto) is a 1965 Mexican surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel and starring Claudio Brook and Silvia Pinal. It is loosely based on the story of the ascetic 5th-century Syrian saint Simeon Stylites, w ...
'' (1965). In the late 1960s and early 1970s the work of notable Mexican young directors flourished:
Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...
('' El castillo de la pureza''–1972; '' El lugar sin límites''–1977),
Luis Alcoriza Luis Alcoriza de la Vega (September 5, 1918 – December 3, 1992) was a respected Mexican screenwriter, film director, and actor. Alcoriza was born in Spain and, exiled because of the Spanish Civil War, established himself in Mexico from 1940 ...
('' Tarahumara''–1965; ''
Fé, Esperanza y Caridad ''Fe, Esperanza y Caridad'' (English: Faith, Hope and Charity) is a Mexican film comprising three short stories. It was made in 1974. Synopsis The film compiles three stories, each named for part of the main title. The first, "Fe" (Faith), is ...
''–1973),
Felipe Cazals Felipe Cazals (28 July 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter, and producer. His wife was Rosa Eugenia Báez de Cazals. Together with Arturo Ripstein, Cazals was considered in Mexico one of the most representative f ...
(''Las poquianchis''–1976–; ''El Apando''–1976),
Jorge Fons Jorge Fons Pérez (23 April 1939 – 22 September 2022) was a Mexican film director. He belonged to the first generation of film directors of the UNAM. His short film, ''Caridad'' (1973), is still considered one of the best films in Mexican c ...
(''
los cachorros ''Los Cachorros'' (''The Cubs'') is a 1973 Mexican film drama directed by Jorge Fons and written by Fons, Eduardo Lujan, José Emilio Pacheco based upon the novel ''The Cubs and Other Stories'' by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. Plot It tel ...
''–1973–; '' Rojo Amanecer'' −1989), Paul Leduc (''Reed, Mexico insurgente'' −1972-; ''Frida, Naturaleza Viva''),
Alejandro Jodorowski Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films '' El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his wor ...
(''
El topo ''El Topo'' (, "The Mole") is a 1970 Mexican acid Western art film written, scored, directed by and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky. Characterized by its bizarre characters and occurrences, use of maimed and dwarf performers, and heavy doses of Ju ...
''– 1970–; ''
Santa Sangre ''Santa Sangre'' ( en, Holy Blood, italic=yes) is a 1989 avant-garde surreal horror film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky and written by Jodorowsky along with Claudio Argento and Roberto Leoni. It stars Axel Jodorowsky, Adán Jodorowsky, Teo J ...
''–1989), the Chilean
Miguel Littin Miguel Ernesto Littin Cucumides (born 9 August 1942) is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born to a Palestinian father, Hernán Littin and a Greek mother, Cristina Cucumides. Career Miguel Littin dir ...
(''
Letters from Marusia ''Letters from Marusia'' ( es, Actas de Marusia) is a 1975 Mexican film directed by Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. The ...
''–1976),
Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Delgado (22 January 1942 – 13 January 2020) was a Mexican film director, often compared to Spain's Pedro Almodóvar. Born in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, Hermosillo's films often explore the hypoc ...
(''La pasión según Berenice''–1972–; ''Doña Herlinda y su hijo''–1984) and many others. His films represented Mexico in notable international film festivals. American directors as
John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
realized some Mexican-set English language films (e.g., ''
Under the Volcano ''Under the Volcano'' is a novel by English writer Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) published in 1947. The novel tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the Mexican city of Quauhnahuac, on the Day of the Dead in Novemb ...
''–1984). What is now Videocine was established in 1979 as Televicine by Emilio Azcarraga Milmo, whose family founded
Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...
, with which Videocine is co-owned. The company became the largest producer and distributor of theatrical movies in Mexico and remains such today. By the time of Videocine's establishment, it had become the norm for a Mexican movie to reach its largest post-theatrical audience through television carriage rights with any of the Televisa networks. The 1961 film '' The Important Man'' (original title ''Animas Trujano'') was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962. The 1965 film ''
Always Further On ''Always Further On'' ( es, Tarahumara (Cada vez más lejos)) is a 1965 Mexican drama film directed by Luis Alcoriza. It won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreig ...
'' won the
FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Mexican entry for the
Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
at the
38th Academy Awards The 38th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1965, were held on April 18, 1966, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope. The ceremony was broadcast on the ABC network and was ...
, but was not accepted as a nominee. Some films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Films of the time are the 1960 ''Macario'', 1962 ''The Pearl of Tlayucan'' (original title ''Tlayucan''), 1975 ''
Letters from Marusia ''Letters from Marusia'' ( es, Actas de Marusia) is a 1975 Mexican film directed by Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. The ...
'' (original title ''Actas de Marusia'').


Nuevo Cine Mexicano (New Mexican Cinema)

Mexican cinema suffered through the 1960s and 1970s, until government sponsorship of the industry and the creation of state supported film helped create
Nuevo Cine Mexicano Nuevo Cine Mexicano, also referred to as New Mexican Cinema is a Mexican film movement started in the early 1990s. Filmmakers, critics, and scholars consider Nuevo Cine Mexicano a "rebirth" of Mexican cinema because of the production of higher-q ...
(New Mexican Cinema) in the 1990s. The period spanning the 1990s to the present has been considered as the prime era of the (New Mexican Cinema). It first took place with high quality films by
Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...
,
Alfonso Arau Alfonso Arau Incháustegui (born 11 January 1932) is a Mexican filmmaker, actor, and singer. He worked as an actor and director in both Mexican and Hollywood productions for over 40 years, before his international breakthrough with the 1992 fil ...
,
Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...
, and
María Novaro María Novaro (born María Luisa Novaro Peñaloza; September 11, 1951, in Mexico City) is a Mexican film director. She was among the first generation of female filmmakers to graduate from a film school in Mexico. She has made five feature films an ...
. Among the films produced at this time were '' Solo con tu pareja'' (1991), '' Como agua para chocolate'' (''Like Water for Chocolate'') (1992), '' Cronos'' (1993), ''
El callejón de los milagros ''Midaq Alley'' ( es, El callejón de los milagros, also released as ''The Alley of Miracles'') is a 1995 Mexican film adapted from the novel by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, written by Vicente Leñero and directed by Jorge Fons. The film dea ...
'' (1995), '' Profundo carmesí'' (1996), ''
Sexo, pudor y lágrimas ''Sexo, pudor y lágrimas'' (''Sex, Shame, and Tears'') is a Mexican film, the second of the so-called New Era of the Cinema of Mexico (after '' Like Water for Chocolate'') and the directorial debut of Antonio Serrano. The film won five Ariel ...
'' (''Sex, Shame, and Tears'') (1999), ''
The Other Conquest ''The Other Conquest'' (Spanish: ''La Otra Conquista'') is a 1999 Mexican historical drama film written and directed by Salvador Carrasco, produced by Alvaro Domingo, and executive produced by Plácido Domingo. The film is set during the aftermat ...
'' (2000), and others such as ''
La Misma Luna ''Under the Same Moon'' ( es, La misma luna) is a 2007 Mexican-American drama film in Spanish and English directed by Patricia Riggen (in her feature film directorial debut) and starring Kate del Castillo, Adrián Alonso, and Eugenio Derbez. Pl ...
'' (2007). More recent are ''
Amores perros ''Amores perros'' is a 2000 Mexican psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Guillermo Arriaga, based on a story by them both. ''Amores perros'' is the first installmen ...
'' by
Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (; American Spanish: ; credited since 2016 as Alejandro G. Iñárritu; born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the hum ...
, ''
Y tu mamá también Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or sevent ...
'' by
Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...
, ''
El crimen del Padre Amaro ''The Crime of Padre Amaro'' ( es, El crimen del padre Amaro, known by its literal translation ''The Crime of Father Amaro'' in Australia) is a 2002 Mexican-Spanish film directed by Carlos Carrera. It is very loosely based on the novel ''O Crim ...
'' by
Carlos Carrera Carlos Carrera (born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. He directed ''El crimen del Padre Amaro'' (2002), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2009, he directed '' Backyard'' abo ...
, '' Arráncame la vida'' by
Roberto Sneider Roberto Sneider is a Mexican writer, director and producer best known for his films ''Dos Crímenes'' and '' Tear This Heart Out''. Early life and education Sneider is a graduate of Universidad Iberoamericana and of the directing program a ...
, '' Biutiful'' (2010) (also directed by Iñárritu), '' Hidalgo: La historia jamás contada'' (2010), ''
Instructions Not Included ''Instructions Not Included'' (Spanish title: ', literally ''Returns not accepted'') is a 2013 Mexican comedy-drama film co-written, directed by, and starring Eugenio Derbez. The plot follows a Mexican playboy who is suddenly saddled with a love ...
'' (2013), ''
Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely-accomplished Mexican comedian and is cele ...
'' (2014), and the remake of the 1975 Mexican horror film '' Más Negro que la Noche'' (''Blacker Than Night'') (2014) and also the first
3D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pict ...
of Mexico. In the latest years it was noticed the increasing success of a group of Mexicans in Hollywood cinema, specially with directors
Alfonso Cuaron Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
,
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander (Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander (Irish), Alessandro (Italian), Aleksandr (Rus ...
and
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...
as well as cinematographer
Emmanuel Lubezki Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern (; born November 30, 1964) is a Mexican cinematographer. He sometimes goes by the nickname Chivo, which means "goat" in Spanish. Lubezki has worked with many acclaimed directors, including Mike Nichols, Tim Burton, ...
. All three directors had won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Director and Lubezki won both prizes for Best Cinematography for three consecutive years. The 3 directors have frequently been cited as the "Three Amigos of Cinema", while Lubezki's innovative style of cinematography made critics often call him one of the greatest directors of photography of all time. For the other side the success of the films
Nosotros los Nobles ', also called ''The Noble Family'' and ''We Are the Nobles'', is a 2013 Mexican dark comedy film directed by Gary Alazraki, starring Gonzalo Vega, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza and Juan Pablo Gil, with Ianis Guerrero, Carlos Gascón and Mar ...
and
Instructions Not Included ''Instructions Not Included'' (Spanish title: ', literally ''Returns not accepted'') is a 2013 Mexican comedy-drama film co-written, directed by, and starring Eugenio Derbez. The plot follows a Mexican playboy who is suddenly saddled with a love ...
in 2013, gave way to the development of similar projects trying to focus on the use of known Mexican TV stars such as
Omar Chaparro Omar Chaparro Alvarez (born November 26, 1974) is a Mexican actor, comedian, television host and singer. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaparro, Omar 1974 births Living people 20th-century Mexican male act ...
,
Adal Ramones Adalberto Javier Ramones Martínez (born 3 December 1961) is a Mexican television presenter and comedian who is known for his comments on Mexican and international social life. Ramones was the host of a popular Mexican television show, ''Otro ...
or
Adrian Uribe Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...
. The majority of them are romantic comedies focused on telenovela-style stories. This, however, should not prevent the success of other directors in the development of dramatic films, such as
Carlos Reygadas Carlos Reygadas Castillo (; born October 10, 1971) is a Mexicans, Mexican filmmaker. Influenced by existentialist art and philosophy, Reygadas' movies feature spiritual journeys into the inner worlds of his main characters, through which themes ...
and
Alonso Ruizpalacios Alonso Ruizpalacios (born 1978) is a Mexican film director. Biography Ruizpalacios was born and raised in Mexico City. He studied stage directing in Mexico City, before moving to London where he trained as an actor at RADA. Ruizpalacios writes a ...
. In 2017,
Alfonso Cuaron Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
travelled back to Mexico to film his most intimate film,
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
. The film, distributed by
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
went on critical acclaim and was the second Mexican movie to win the Golden Globe as Best Foreign Language Film, while Cuaron got the Best Director award. Also it becomes the first Mexican movie to be nominated to both Best Film and Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Awards, while getting a total of 10 nominations including Best Actress for mixtec actress
Yalitza Aparicio Yalitza Aparicio Martínez (; born 11 December 1993) is a Mexican actress and preschool teacher. She made her film debut as Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón's 2018 drama ''Roma'', which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2 ...
and Best Supporting Actress for
Marina de Tavira Marina de Tavira Servitje (born 21 November 1974) is a Mexican actress. She is internationally known for her role in the film ''Roma'' (2018), which received widespread acclaim and earned her an Academy Award nomination. Life and career She ...
. File:Ariel award Mexico.png,
Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...
Mexican Academy of Film Award. File:Cineteca Nacional.JPG, Cineteca nacional (National Film Library)


Mexploitation subgenre

A Mexican cinema subgenre is the Mexploitation subgenre, itself part of the Mexican action films genre. A second sub-genre within this sub-genre is the narco-filme, films about fictional drug cartels battling the police and each others. During 2019, Bancomext announced the financing of up to 50 percent of the film-making costs of many films, including Mexican action films. Mexican action film stars include the Almada brothers,
Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
and Mario Almada,
Jorge Rivero Jorge Rivero (born Jorge Pous Rosas; June 15, 1938) is a Mexican actor, with a career spanning two continents (America and Europe), primarily in Spanish-language media. He has been also credited as George Rivers and George Rivero. Early life Ri ...
,
Rosa Gloria Chagoyán Rosa Gloria Chagoyán (; hy, Ռոզա Գլորիա Չագոյան); is a Mexican actress and singer of Armenian descent. Biography Chagoyán started her career as a radio host. She entered the world of acting in 1973 as an actress in ''El Di ...
(''Lola la Trailera''), the Dominican Republic-born Andres Garcia,
Bernabe Melendrez Bernabe may refer to: Persons * Bernabe (given name) * Bernabe (surname) Places * San Bernabe AVA, California wine region in Monterey County See also * Barnabas * Barnabe (disambiguation) * Barnaby * Barnabé * Barney (disambiguation) * Bernab ...
and Max Hernandez Jr.


Role of women

Women filmmakers in Latin America, specifically Mexico suffered from absolute neglect by the film industry and audience.
Mimí Derba María Herminia Pérez de León, better known as Mimí Derba (9 October 1893 – 14 July 1953) was a Mexican actress, screenwriter, and film director, considered the first female film director in Mexico. Early life At the age of seventee ...
founded one of the first Mexican production companies, Azteca Films. She had a successful career in
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
before entering films. Derba was the first female director in Mexico. Then
Matilde Landeta Matilde Soto Landeta (September 20, 1910 – January 26, 1999) was a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter, the first female to serve in those roles during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Her films focused on the portrayal of strong, realistic fem ...
was a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter, who was the first female to serve in those roles during the
Golden Age of Mexican cinema The Golden Age of Mexican cinema ( es, Época de Oro del Cine Mexicano) is a period in the history of the Cinema of Mexico between 1930 and 1969 when the Mexican film industry reached high levels of production, quality and economic success of its ...
. Her films focused on the portrayal of strong, realistic female protagonists in a patriarchal world. Landeta won an
Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...
in 1957 for Best Original Story for the film '' El camino de la vida'' which she co-wrote with her brother Eduardo. The film also won the 1957 Golden Ariel, the Silver Ariel Film of Major National Interest and Best Direction and two other awards in 1956 in the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
under the name of
Alfonso Corona Blake Alfonso Corona Blake (2 January 1919 – 21 January 1999) was a Mexican film director and screenwriter. He directed 27 films between 1956 and 1971. His film ''The Road of Life'' won the Honourable Mention (Director) award at the 6th Berlin In ...
. Movies in this period often featured strong maternal characters, while maintaining the idea of feminine inferiority to men. This perpetuated the belief that women could only reach the same level of agency as men in the process of aging and becoming a mother or grandmother. This is seen in movies such as '' Los tres Garcia'' (1947) and Lupe Balazos (1964). In much of the cinema of this time, women were depicted as being dependent on men for protection and fulfillment. This mirrored much of the cultural sentiment prior to the 1960s. Many of the female characters in these films were powerless. Not only inferior to male characters, they were easily put down by communities as a whole and easily shunned. A prime example of this story is in ''
María Candelaria ''María Candelaria'' is a 1943 Mexican romantic film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand ...
'' (1944). In this specific film, María was an innocent character who was shamed for the reputation of another character. A miscommunication occurred that cost her her life. This is a common pattern in Cinema of Mexico at this time because of the belittlement of women. In the 1980s and 1990s things started to take a turn. Women filmmakers in Mexico finally got the opportunity to create and produce professional feature films. The most popular two would be El secreto de Romeila (1988) directed by Busi Cortés and Los pasos de Ana (1990) by Marisa Sistach. These two feature films were considered the doors that opened opportunity for women filmmakers in Mexico as well as created a new genre that people were not familiar with, labeled as ‘women’s cinema’. The phenomenal growth of ‘women’s cinema’, not only meant that there would be an infinite expansion in the list of female names as filmmakers or creators; in reality, it created a daunting cinematic genre by objectifying women as well as displacing them within the film industry. Most of the female filmmakers in Mexico identify as feminists. The primary reason for many of them to commit to being filmmakers was to depict stories of women in their original and true essence as well as to strive in readapting roles of females on the Mexican screen. According to Patricia Torres San Martín, an honorable film scholar, there is a new theme emerging within the film industry in Mexico which is known as the ‘new female identity’. This new structural change in cinema created a geographical cultural change in Mexico due to its new emerged eye-opening concept in the film industry. One of
Maria Novaro María Novaro (born María Luisa Novaro Peñaloza; September 11, 1951, in Mexico City) is a Mexican film director. She was among the first generation of female filmmakers to graduate from a film school in Mexico. She has made five feature films an ...
first short films (a school work: An Island Surrounded by Water, 1984) was acquired by the
Museum of Modern Art in New York The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
for its permanent film collection and was distributed in the United States by Women Make Movies. Maria's 1994 El Jardín del Edén (The Garden of Eden) obtain her a second nomination for the Ariel Award for Best Picture the first for a woman in Mexico. In the Garden of Eden, three very different women find themselves in the Mexican-American border town of Tijuana, each with her own goal. The women: struggling artist Elizabeth ( Rosario Sagrav), Jane (
Renée Coleman Renée Coleman (born January 8, 1962) is a Canadian actress who has appeared in several TV shows and movies. Acting She is best known for her role in the NBC TV series ''Quantum Leap'', in which she played the role of Alia, the "evil leaper." ...
), who's looking for her brother, and Serena (
Gabriela Roel Gabriela Roel (born 13 December 1959) is a Mexican film and television actress. Filmography Film Television References External links * 1959 births Living people People from Delicias, Chihuahua Mexican film actresses Mexican t ...
), a widow who just arrived in town with her family. Although the trio come from different cultural backgrounds—Serena is Mexican, Jane is American and Elizabeth is Mexican-American—all three are similarly in search of a new direction.
Mariana Chenillo Mariana Chenillo (born 29 April 1977 in Mexico City) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter, known for '' Nora's Will'' (2008), ''Paradise'' (2013) and '' Revolución'' (2010). Chenillo is the first female filmmaker to have directed a Best ...
became the first female director to win an
Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...
for Best Picture back in 2010 for the film
Nora's Will ''Nora's Will'' ( es, Cinco días sin Nora, also released as ''Five Days Without Nora'') is a 2008 Mexican drama film written and directed by Mariana Chenillo. It was entered into the 31st Moscow International Film Festival. Plot Nora commits su ...
. The Ariel is the Mexican Academy of Film Award. In cinema, it is considered Mexico's equivalent to the Academy Awards ("Oscars") of the United States. The film gives a mysterious photograph left under the bed will lead to an unexpected outcome which will remind us that sometimes the greatest love stories are hidden in the smallest places.
Issa López Issa Laura López Lozano is a Mexican producer, writer and film director. Eleven Spanish language features have been produced from her scripts, four of them directed by herself. She has won several literary awards, including the National Novel A ...
wrote the scripts for several film features, three of them produced in Mexico by the Major Hollywood Studios, and two of those directed by herself; '' Efectos Secundarios'' (
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, 2006) and ''Casi Divas'' Almost Divas (
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
, 2008). Casi Divas is the only Mexican movie to be scored by acclaimed Hollywood composer
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...
. Makes her a Mexican filmmaker, one to watch.


Active Mexican cinema personalities


Actors

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Elsa Aguirre Elsa Irma Aguirre Juárez (born 25 September 1930) is a Mexican actress. Career At the beginning of her career she was discovered when she was teenager, in a beauty contest held by a cinematographic production company called ''CLASA Films Mund ...
*
Amalia Aguilar Amalia Isabel Rodríguez Carriera (3 July 1924 – 8 November 2021), known professionally as Amalia Aguilar, was a Cuban-Mexican dancer, actress and comedian. Early life Amalia Isabel Rodríguez Carriera was born in Matanzas, Cuba. She and her ...
*
Alma Rosa Aguirre Alma Rosa Aguirre Juárez (born 19 February 1929) is a Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country M ...
*
Rosa Carmina Rosa Carmina Riverón Jiménez (born November 19, 1929) is a Cuban-Mexican actress and dancer. She was discovered in Cuba by the Spanish filmmaker Juan Orol, and made her debut in Mexican cinema in Orol's film ''A Woman from the East'' in 1946. ...
*
Rosita Quintana Rosita Quintana (16 July 1925 – 23 August 2021) was an Argentine-Mexican actress, singer and songwriter. She was one of the top leading ladies of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She starred in Luis Buñuel's '' Susana'' (1951) and musical fi ...
* "
Tongolele Yolanda Yvonne Montes Farrington (born January 3, 1932), better known by her stage-name Tongolele, is an American-Mexican dancer, actress and vedette. Early life Yolanda Yvonne Montes Farrington, was born in Spokane, Washington, United States, ...
" *
Silvia Pinal Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (born 12 September 1931) is a Mexican actress. She began her career in the theater, venturing into cinema in 1949. Her film work and popularity in her native country led her to work in Europe (Spain and Italy). Pinal achiev ...
*
Anabelle Gutiérrez Anabelle is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Anabelle Langlois (born 1981), Canadian pairs figure skater * Anabelle Prawerman (born 1963), French beach volleyball player * Anabelle Rodriguez, Puerto Rican lawyer See ...
*
María Victoria María Victoria Gutiérrez Cervantes (born 26 February 1927 in Guadalajara, Jalisco) is a Mexican actress, singer, and comedian. She is best known for starring in the Telesistema Mexicano sitcom ''La criada bien criada'' and its 1972 spin-off fi ...
*
Ana Luisa Peluffo Ana Luisa Peluffo (born 9 October 1929) is a Mexican actress. She has appeared in more than 200 films and television shows since 1949. She starred in the 1977 film '' Paper Flowers'', which was entered into the 28th Berlin International Film Fe ...
*
Lorena Velázquez Lorena Velázquez (; born December 15, 1937) is a Mexican actress and former beauty pageant titleholder. Biography Born María de la Concepción Lorena Villar in Mexico City, Velázquez debuted in 1955. She competed in Miss Mexico in 1958 and p ...
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Elsa Cárdenas Elsa Cárdenas Rentería (born 3 August 1932) is a Mexican actress. Since 1954 she has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows. She starred in the film ''Happiness'', which was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. ...
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Ignacio López Tarso Ignacio López López (born 15 January 1925), known professionally as Ignacio López Tarso, is a Mexican actor of stage, film and television. He has acted in about 50 films and appeared in documentaries and in one short feature. In 1973 he was g ...
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Angélica María Angélica María Hartman Ortiz (born September 27, 1944), known professionally as La novia de Mexico (Mexico's sweetheart), is an American-Mexican actress and singer-songwriter. Her songs El hombre de mi vida (The man of my life) peaked at No. ...
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Aurora Clavel Aurora Clavel (born August 14, 1936) is a Mexican film and television actress who is noted for her roles in the movies '' Tarahumara'' (1965) and ''Once Upon a Scoundrel'' (1973), as well as in numerous telenovelas. For example, she played Mama ...
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Isela Vega Isela Vega Durazo (5 November 1939 – 9 March 2021) was a Mexican actress,Televisa ...
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Hugo Stiglitz Hugo Stiglitz López, better known simply as Hugo Stiglitz, (born August 28, 1940, in Mexico City) is a Mexican actor. Stiglitz is perhaps most well known for his film roles in the 1970s and 1980s in Mexico in such horror films as '' Tintorera' ...
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Julissa Julissa (born Julia Isabel de Llano Macedo; 8 April 1944 in Mexico City, D.F., Mexico) is a Mexican actress, producer and singer. She is the daughter of radio and television personality Luis de Llano Palmer and actress Rita Macedo. Her childr ...
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Lucha Villa Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano (born November 30, 1936), more commonly known by her stage name Lucha Villa, is a Mexican singer and actress. Early life Born in Camargo, Chihuahua, Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano was given her pseudonym "Lucha Villa" by telev ...
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Enrique Guzmán Enrique Guzmán (born February 1, 1943) is a Venezuelan-born Mexican singer and actor. He is one of the pioneers of Rock & Roll in Mexico, along with César Costa, Angélica María, Johnny Laboriel and Alberto Vasquez, among others. He is als ...
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Jacqueline Andere María Esperanza Jacqueline Andere-Aguilar (born August 20, 1938) is a Mexican actress. Life and career Andere was born in a Jewish family located Mexico City on August 20 1938. Her appearances in telenovelas began with 1960's '' Vida por Vid ...
* Alberto Vázquez *
Eric del Castillo J. Eduardo Eric del Castillo-Negrete Galván (born 22 July 1934) is a Mexican actor of theater, film and television who has dabbled as a screenwriter, director and arguer film, beginning his career in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Early yea ...
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César Costa César Roel Schreurs, best known as César Costa, is a Mexican actor and rock-and-roll singer. Costa was born in Colonia Condesa of the Mexican capital. He studied elementary and Junior Highschool at the German College and Law at the Universi ...
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Ana Martín Ana Beatriz Martínez Solórzano (born 14 May 1945), known professionally as Ana Martín, is a Mexican actress and model. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She won the Miss Mexico title in 1963, whic ...
* Andres García *
Enrique Rocha Enrique Rocha (January 5, 1940 – November 7, 2021) was a Mexican actor. He made his debut in the film industry in the film Guadalajara en Verano directed by Julio Bracho in the last decade of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema The Golden Age ...
* Valentín Trujillo *
Jorge Rivero Jorge Rivero (born Jorge Pous Rosas; June 15, 1938) is a Mexican actor, with a career spanning two continents (America and Europe), primarily in Spanish-language media. He has been also credited as George Rivers and George Rivero. Early life Ri ...
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Elpidia Carrillo Elpidia Carrillo (born August 16, 1961) is a Mexican actress and director. Her career includes roles in both Latin American and US film and television. She is best known in the United States for her supporting role in the iconic action film ''Pre ...
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María Rojo María de Lourdes Rojo e Incháustegui, commonly known as María Rojo (; born August 15, 1943 in Mexico City), is a Mexican actress and politician. She was Senator of the Republic in the upper house of Mexican Congress. She debuted during the Gol ...
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Ofelia Medina María Ofelia Medina Torres (born 4 March 1950) is a Mexican actress, singer and screenwriter of Mexican films. She was married to film director Alex Philips Jr. and actor Pedro Armendáriz Jr. Biography She was born in Mérida and has four ...
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Carlos Bracho Carlos Enrique Bracho González (born October 6, 1937) is a Mexican actor and writer. Filmography Films Television References External links * 1937 births Living people 20th-century Mexican male actors Mexican male tel ...
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Carmen Salinas Carmen Salinas Lozano (5 October 1939 – 9 December 2021) was a Mexican actress, impressionist, comedian, politician, and theatre entrepreneur. She was associated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) during her later career as a po ...
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Verónica Castro Verónica Castro (), full name Verónica Judith Sáinz Castro (born 19 October 1952), is a Mexican actress, singer, producer, former model and presenter. She started her career as a television actress, where she met comedian Manuel Valdés, fa ...
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Delia Casanova Delia Casanova (born Delia Margarita Casanova Mendiola on November 4, 1948, in Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bord ...
* Diana Bracho * José Alonso *
Lucía Méndez Lucía Leticia Méndez Pérez (born January 26, 1955) is a Mexican telenovela and film actress, top model and singer. Méndez was born in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. Career In 2011, Lucía starred in Mexico the telenovela '' Esperanza del C ...
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Patricia Reyes Spíndola Patricia Verónica Núñez Reyes Spíndola (born 11 July 1953) is a Mexican actress, director, and producer. She has received four Ariel Awards, two for Best Actress ('' Los Motivos de Luz'' in 1985 and ''The Queen of the Night'' in 1994), and ...
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Héctor Bonilla Héctor Hermilo Bonilla Rebentun (14 March 1939 – 25 November 2022) was a Mexican actor and director known for his movies Meridiano 100 and Rojo Amanecer. Bonilla died on 25 November 2022, at the age of 83. Filmography Film Television ...
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Alma Delfina Alma Delfina (née Alma Delfina Martínez Ortega) is a Mexican actress. Acting career Sister of the director Gonzalo Martinez Ortega, writer Mario Iván Martínez and the actresses Socorro Bonilla and Evangelina Martínez. She is also the aun ...
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Manuel Ojeda Manuel Salvador Ojeda Armenta (4 November 1940 – 11 August 2022) was a Mexican actor. Ojeda was one of the most active actors of television and cinema in Mexico. He played the villain, Zolo, in the Hollywood film '' Romancing the Stone''. ...
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Jose Carlos Ruíz Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...
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Gonzalo Vega Gonzalo Agustín Vega González (November 29, 1946 – October 10, 2016) was a Mexican film, theatre and television actor. Personal life He was also father of the actresses Zuria Vega, Marimar Vega Marimar Vega (born María del Mar Vega S ...
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Tina Romero Tina Romero (born Tina Romero Alcázar, August 14, 1949) is an American actress. A native of New York City, Romero moved to Mexico in her youth, and later established a career there as an actress. Her early film roles included '' The Divine Caste ...
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Blanca Guerra Blanca Guerra Islas (born January 10, 1953) is a Mexican actress. In 1983 she was a member of the jury at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival. Films * La loca de los Milagros (1975) * Pedro Páramo (1978) - Dolores Preciado * El s ...
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Sylvia Pasquel Sylvia Pasquel (born Silvia Banquells Pinal, 13 October 1949) is a Mexican actress. Career 1960s At the age of nineteen, Pasquel did her first movie, '' El Despertar del Lobo'' (''The Wolf's Awakening''). That movie was made in 1968, the year i ...
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Angélica Aragón Angélica Espinoza Stransky (born 11 July 1953), known as Angélica Aragón (), is a Mexican film, television and stage actress and singer. She is daughter of the Mexican composer José Ángel Espinoza "Ferrusquilla". She is recognized for her ...
* Lumi Cavazos *
Arcelia Ramírez Arcelia Ramírez (born 7 December 1967) is a Mexican actress. She has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1985. She starred in the film ''Such Is Life (2000 film), Such Is Life'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard ...
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Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez (born November 2, 1958) is a Mexican actress whose breakout role was the 1983 film '' El Norte.''IMDb
film data ...
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Daniel Giménez Cacho Daniel Giménez Cacho (born May 15, 1961) is a Spanish-born Mexican actor and Ariel award winner, best known for portraying Tito the Coroner in ''Cronos'' (1993) and ''We Are What We Are'' (2010). Career He starred in several Mexican films ...
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Bruno Bichir Bruno Bichir Nájera (born 6 October 1967) is a Mexican actor and one of the members of the Bichir family. Biography Bichir was born in Mexico City. He started his acting career at the age of five in several theater, film and television series. ...
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Demián Bichir Demián Bichir Nájera (; born 1 August 1963) is a Mexican actor. After starring in telenovelas, he began to appear in Hollywood films. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in '' A Better Life''. Personal life Bic ...
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Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...
– Mexican-Academy Award nominee *
Eugenio Derbez Eugenio González Derbez (; born September 2, 1961) is a Mexican actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films and television series including '' The Book of Life,The Angry Birds Movie 2 and The Secret Life of Pets.'' In the 2010s, he app ...
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Adriana Barraza Adriana Barraza González (born 5 March 1956) is a Mexican actress, acting teacher, and director. In 1999 director Alejandro González Iñárritu cast her as the mother of Gael García Bernal's character in '' Amores perros'', which was nomin ...
* Jesús Ochoa *
Cecilia Suárez María Cecilia Suárez de Garay, known professionally as Cecilia Suárez (Mexican ; born November 22, 1971), is a Mexican actress and a prominent activist working with the United Nations and European Union campaigning against femicide and viole ...
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Damián Alcázar Damián Alcázar (born January 8, 1953) is a Mexican actor and politician, who is best known outside of Mexico as Lord Sopespian in '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''. He was a deputy in the Constituent Assembly of Mexico City. Caree ...
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Gael García Bernal Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and producer. He is best known for his performances in the films '' Bad Education'', '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', '' Amores perros'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Babel'', '' Coco'', ...
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Ana de la Reguera Anabell Gardoqui de la Reguera (; born 8 April 1977) is a Mexican actress. She has starred in telenovelas, films, the HBO television series ''Eastbound & Down'' and ''Capadocia'', the Amazon television series ''Goliath'', and the 2006 comedy '' ...
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Bárbara Mori Bárbara Mori Ochoa () (born 2 February 1978) is a Uruguayan-born Mexican actress, model, producer and writer. She is known for playing the main character in the 2004 telenovela '' Rubí,'' one of the most successful telenovelas of all time. Sin ...
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Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''. Following an early care ...
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Martha Higareda Martha Elba Guadalupe Higareda Cervantes () (born August 24, 1983) is a Mexican actress, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Higareda was born in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, the daughter of actress Martha Cervantes and artist and ther ...
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Diego Boneta Diego Andrés González Boneta (born November 29, 1990) is an American actor, producer and singer. He gained wider recognition after starring in ''Rock of Ages'' (2012) alongside Tom Cruise and the ''Netflix'' biographical series '' Luis Miguel: ...
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Alfonso Herrera Alfonso Herrera Rodríguez (, born 28 August 1983) is a Mexican actor and former singer. Born in Mexico City, Herrera made his television debut in ''Clase 406'' in 2002. In the same year, his made film debut in '' Amar te duele'' and won a MT ...
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Ana Claudia Talancón Ana Claudia Talancón (born Ana Claudia Talancón Ortiz Tirado; 1 May 1980), is a Mexican actress, TV host, and philanthropist. She first started acting in her home town, Cancún, Quintana Roo. Early life and career Talancón first started st ...
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Sandra Echeverría Sandra Echeverría Gamboa (born December 11, 1984) is a Mexican actress and singer. Life and career In 2002, Echeverría starred in TV Azteca's ''Súbete A Mi Moto'', alongside Bárbara Mori and Michel Brown. In 2004, she led the second se ...
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Karla Souza Karla Susana Olivares Souza (born December 11, 1985) is a Mexican actress known for her roles as Laurel Castillo on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC legal drama series ''How to Get Away with Murder'' and Marina Hayworth on the ABC sitcom ' ...
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Eduardo Verástegui José Eduardo Verástegui Córdoba (; born May 21, 1974) is a Mexican producer and actor. He was part of band Kairo and later a solo music career, before he started appearing in Mexican telenovelas and eventually feature films like ''Chasing Papi ...
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Kate del Castillo Kate del Castillo Negrete Trillo () is a Mexican-American actress. At the age of 19, del Castillo became known for her lead role in the telenovela ''Muchachitas'' for Televisa in 1991. Afterwards, she continued her career in film and television ...
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Kuno Becker Eduardo Kuno Becker Paz (born January 14, 1978) professionally known as Kuno Becker, is a Mexican actor and film director who has worked in telenovelas, Mexican cinema, and U.S. cinema. He is best known for his portrayal of Ruben Berrizabal in ...
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Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Lupita Nyong'o, several accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, and nominations for ...
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Jaime Camil Jaime Federico Said Camil de Saldanha da Gama (born 22 July 1973) is a Mexican actor, singer and television personality. He is best known for his roles as Fernando Mendiola in ''La Fea Más Bella'' and Rogelio de la Vega in ''Jane the Virgin'', ...
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Marina de Tavira Marina de Tavira Servitje (born 21 November 1974) is a Mexican actress. She is internationally known for her role in the film ''Roma'' (2018), which received widespread acclaim and earned her an Academy Award nomination. Life and career She ...
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Yalitza Aparicio Yalitza Aparicio Martínez (; born 11 December 1993) is a Mexican actress and preschool teacher. She made her film debut as Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón's 2018 drama ''Roma'', which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2 ...
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Eiza González Eiza González Reyna (born 30 January 1990) is a Mexican actress and singer. She gained popularity for her debut role as Lola Valente in the Mexican musical telenovela ''Lola, érase una vez'' (2007–2008) and later starred in the lead role of ...
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Tenoch Huerta Mejia José Tenoch Huerta Mejía (; born 29 January 1981) is a Mexican actor. He has appeared in a number of movies in Latin America and Spain, starring in both feature films, short films, and '' Narcos: Mexico'', credited as Tenoch Huerta. He is f ...


Directors

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Antonio Chavez Trejo Antonio Chavez Trejo (born May 20, 1981) is a Mexican filmmaker, writer, producer and entrepreneur. His films are noted for their surreal feel, dark undertones and sense of humor, visually appealing cinematography and have been featured in many f ...
* César A. Amigó *
Carlos Carrera Carlos Carrera (born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. He directed ''El crimen del Padre Amaro'' (2002), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2009, he directed '' Backyard'' abo ...
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Felipe Cazals Felipe Cazals (28 July 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter, and producer. His wife was Rosa Eugenia Báez de Cazals. Together with Arturo Ripstein, Cazals was considered in Mexico one of the most representative f ...
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Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...
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Carlos Cuarón Carlos José Cuarón Orozco (born 2 October 1966) is a Mexican screenwriter, film producer, and film director. He is also brother of the Academy Award-winner Alfonso Cuarón. Biography Carlos Cuarón was born in Mexico City and studied Eng ...
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Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...
* Gonzalo de la Torre *
Fernando Eimbcke Fernando Eimbcke (born 1970 in Mexico City) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Fernando Eimbcke studied film direction at the Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos of the UNAM (1992–1996). He started his career directi ...
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Jorge Fons Jorge Fons Pérez (23 April 1939 – 22 September 2022) was a Mexican film director. He belonged to the first generation of film directors of the UNAM. His short film, ''Caridad'' (1973), is still considered one of the best films in Mexican c ...
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Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (; American Spanish: ; credited since 2016 as Alejandro G. Iñárritu; born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the hum ...
* Julián Hernández * Carlos Hernández Vázquez * Antonino Isordia *
Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films '' El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his wor ...
* Leopoldo Laborde * Paul Leduc *
Rodrigo Plá Rodrigo Plá (born 9 June 1968 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a Uruguayan screenwriter and director. He is best known for his 2007 film '' La Zona'' (The Zone). Plá studied photography, screenwriting and direction at the Centro de capacitación c ...
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Fernando Méndez Fernando Ambrosio Méndez Chiquelli (born 4 August 1984) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Honours San Marcos de Arica * Primera B: 2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger ...
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Mauro Mueller Mauro Mueller is an independent Swiss-Mexican narrative filmmaker. He won in the Student Academy Awards in 2013 and is member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. He is best known for directing the short films ''Ge.hen'nah'' in ...
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Maria Novaro María Novaro (born María Luisa Novaro Peñaloza; September 11, 1951, in Mexico City) is a Mexican film director. She was among the first generation of female filmmakers to graduate from a film school in Mexico. She has made five feature films an ...
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Miguel A. Reina Miguel Alejandro Reina Gómez Maganda (; born 11 August 1980) is a Mexican filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. Some of his works include ''Un aliado en el tiempo'', ''Mi vida en frenesí'', ''Trazos mágicos de Oaxaca'' and ''El hombre que ...
* Gabriel Retes *
Carlos Reygadas Carlos Reygadas Castillo (; born October 10, 1971) is a Mexicans, Mexican filmmaker. Influenced by existentialist art and philosophy, Reygadas' movies feature spiritual journeys into the inner worlds of his main characters, through which themes ...
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Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...
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Carolina Rivas Carolina Rivas Suárez (; born March 4, 1978) is a Dominican singer, actress and theatre producer. She has received several awards and nominations, including her win for Casandra Awards, Premios Casandra in 2009 as producer of the Santo Domingo ...
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Carlos Salces Carlos Salces (born 29 February 1972 in Mexico City) is a self-made producer-writer-director-editor. His passion for films began at age 11 while working as an actor in ''Redondo'' by Raúl Busteros and began working in feature films with prominent ...
* Antonio Serrano *
Alejandro Springall Alejandro Springall is a Mexican film director and producer. Springall studied filmmaking at the London Film School. He returned to Mexico City in 1991 and started working with Mexican film producer Bertha Navarro, from whom he learned mo ...
* José Antonio Torres * Alfredo Zacarías *
Michel Franco Michel Franco (born 28 August 1979) is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his film '' After Lucia'' that won the Prize Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. His films typically deal with the ...


Gallery

File:Alejandro Inarritu Cannes 2017.jpg,
Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (; American Spanish: ; credited since 2016 as Alejandro G. Iñárritu; born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the hum ...
File:Guillermo del Toro in 2017.jpg,
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...
File:Alfonso Cuarón (2013) cropped.jpg,
Alfonso Cuarón Alfonso Cuarón Orozco ( , ; born 28 November 1961) is a Mexican filmmaker. He is known for directing films in a variety of genres including the family drama ''A Little Princess (1995 film), A Little Princess'' (1995), the romantic drama ''Gre ...


Cinematographers

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Gabriel Beristain Luis Gabriel Beristáin, is a Mexican cinematographer, producer, and television director known for his work on numerous well-known films including '' The Distinguished Gentleman'', '' The Spanish Prisoner'', ''Blade II'', and '' Street Kings'', ...
* Henner Hofmann *
Emmanuel Lubezki Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern (; born November 30, 1964) is a Mexican cinematographer. He sometimes goes by the nickname Chivo, which means "goat" in Spanish. Lubezki has worked with many acclaimed directors, including Mike Nichols, Tim Burton, ...
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Guillermo Navarro Guillermo Jorge Navarro Solares, (born July 29, 1955) is a Mexican cinematographer and television director.Scott, A. O. (November 21, 2001). ''The New York Times''The Devil's Backbone (review overview)./ref> He has worked in Hollywood since 199 ...
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Rodrigo Prieto Rodrigo Prieto, American Society of Cinematographers, ASC, AMC (born November 23, 1965), is a Mexican cinematographer. He has been closely associated as cinematographer for Martin Scorsese and Alejandro González Iñárritu, among other directo ...


Composers

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Victor Hernández Stumpfhauser Victor Hernández Stumpfhauser (born 13 April 1980 in Morelia, Michoacán) is a Mexican musician and film score composer. Education and career Hernández Stumpfhauser is one of the newer generations of Mexican film composers, he is an alumn ...
* Leoncio "Bon" Lara *
Mario Lavista Mario Lavista (April 3, 1943 – November 4, 2021) was a Mexican composer, writer and intellectual. Life and career Lavista was born in Mexico City. He enrolled the Composition Workshop (Taller de Composición) at the National Conservatory in 19 ...


Deceased Mexican Cinema Personalities


Actors

* Elena Sánchez Valenzuela- First Mexican movie star † *
Mimí Derba María Herminia Pérez de León, better known as Mimí Derba (9 October 1893 – 14 July 1953) was a Mexican actress, screenwriter, and film director, considered the first female film director in Mexico. Early life At the age of seventee ...
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Lupita Tovar Guadalupe Natalia Tovar (27 July 1910 – 12 November 2016), known professionally as Lupita Tovar, was a Mexican-born American actress best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish-language version of '' Drácula'', filmed in Los Angeles b ...
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Emma Roldán Emma Roldán (February 3, 1893 – August 29, 1978) was a Mexican character actress and costume designer. She is remembered as the sharp-tongued, domineering matron of Mexican cinema, and was nominated three times for a Silver Ariel Award. ...
† * Sofía Álvarez † *
Dolores Camarillo Dolores Camarillo (March 31, 1910 – February 8, 1988) was a Mexican character actress of film, television, and theater. She also was a makeup artist for films, and was frequently billed as "Fraustita". Personal life The daughter of actors ...
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Andrea Palma Andrea Palma (b. Trapani, 1644 or 1664 – d. 1730) was an 18th-century Italian architect, working in the Baroque style. He is credited with being one of the most notable architects of the Sicilian Baroque movement. His works include the Cat ...
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Domingo Soler Domingo Soler (born Domingo Díaz Pavia; 17 April 1901 – 13 June 1961) was a Mexican actor and occasional screenwriter of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He appeared in over 150 films and wrote the screenplays for 2 films. Soler won an Ariel ...
† * Stella Inda † *
Juan Orol Juan Rogelio García García, better known as Juan Orol (August 4, 1897 in Lalín, Pontevedra, Spain – May 26, 1988 in Mexico City, Mexico) was a Mexican-Spanish actor, producer, screenwriter and film director. He was known as ''The Kin ...
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María Luisa Zea María Luisa Zea (5 February 1913 – 27 December 2002) was a Mexican actress and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In her career spanning 24 years, she appeared in over 50 motion pictures. Selected filmography *'' La Llorona'' (193 ...
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José Mojica Fray José de Guadalupe Mojica (14 September 1895 – 20 September 1974) was a Mexican Franciscan friar and former tenor and film actor. He was known in the music and film fields as José Mojica. (Spanish) Mojica joined the world of the Americ ...
† * Amparo Arozamena † *
Esther Fernández María Esther Fernández González (23 August 1915 – 21 October 1999) was a Mexican actress. Life and career Esther Fernández began her career as an extra in the film '' La Mujer del Puerto'' (1934). Her first starring role was in the early ho ...
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Anita Blanch Anita Blanch (July 26, 1910 – April 23, 1983) was a Spanish-born, Mexican actress, who worked in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She was nominated for an Ariel Award from the Mexican Academy of Film three times and won the Best Supporting Actr ...
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Pedro Armendáriz Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings (May 9, 1912 – June 18, 1963) was a Mexican film actor who made films in both Mexico and the United States. With Dolores del Río and María Félix, he was one of the best-known Latin American movie stars ...
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Tito Guízar Federico Arturo Guízar Tolentino (; April 8, 1908 – December 24, 1999), known professionally as Tito Guízar, was a Mexican singer and actor. Along with Dolores del Río, Ramón Novarro and Lupe Vélez, as well as José Mojica, Guízar was ...
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Carlos López Moctezuma Carlos López Moctezuma Pineda (19 November 1909 – 14 July 1980) was a Mexican film actor. He appeared in more than 210 films between 1938 and 1980. He starred in the film ''Happiness'', which was entered into the 7th Berlin Internationa ...
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René Cardona René Cardona (October 8, 1905 in Havana, Cuba – April 25, 1988, in Mexico City) was a director, actor, producer, screenwriter, and film editor in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Biography René Cardona was born in Havana, Cuba, on Oc ...
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Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely-accomplished Mexican comedian and is cele ...
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Arturo de Córdova Arturo García Rodríguez (8 May 1908 – 3 November 1973), known professionally as Arturo de Córdova, was a Mexican actor who appeared in over a hundred films. Biography Career Arturo García Rodríguez was born in Mérida, Yucatán on 8 May 1 ...
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Joaquín Pardavé Joaquín Pardavé Arce (30 September 1900 – 20 July 1955) was a Mexican film actor, director, songwriter and screenwriter of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He was best known for starring and directing various comedy films during the 1940 ...
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Lupe Vélez María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944), known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican ...
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Jorge Negrete Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno (; 30 November 1911 – 5 December 1953) was a Mexican singer and actor. Life and career Negrete was born in the city of Guanajuato and had two brothers and three sisters; his father was a Mexican Army Colonel who ...
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Gloria Marín Gloria Méndez Ramos (19 April 1919 – 13 April 1983), better known as Gloria Marín, was a Mexican actress. She was considered a celebrated female star of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. During her career, Marín appeared in about 100 film ...
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Mapy Cortés Maria del Pilar Cordero, better known as Mapy Cortés (Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico March 1, 1910Isla Verde, Puerto Rico August 2, 1998) was a Puerto Rican stage, film and television actress and dancer who participated in many films during the ...
† * Ángel Garasa † *
Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 October 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best kn ...
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Isabela Corona Isabela Corona''Cronología de Teatro en México - 1926/10 (in Spanish) (July 2, 1913 – July 8, 1993) was a Mexican actress. She debuted during the first decade of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Biography Isabela Corona was born as Refugi ...
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Sara García Sara García Hidalgo (8 September 1895 – 21 November 1980) was a Mexican actress who made her biggest mark during the "Golden Age of Mexican cinema". During the 1940s and 1950s, she often played the part of a no-nonsense but lovable grandm ...
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Emilio Tuero Emilio Tuero Cubillas (5 April 1912 – 22 July 1971), known as Emilio Tuero, was a Spanish-Mexican actor, producer, and singer. He was considered a popular star of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Filmography * '' Cri Cri el grillito canto ...
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Ramón Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...
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María Elena Marqués María Elena Marqués Rangel (14 December 1926 – 11 November 2008) was a Mexican actress and singer who was a star during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography She was born on December 14, 1926 in Mexico City. She wa ...
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Fernando Soler Fernando Soler (born Fernando Díaz Pavia; 24 May 1896 – 25 October 1979) was a Mexican actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He was considered one of the most important figures of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In his career spanning ...
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Leticia Palma Zoyla Gloria Ruiz Moscoso (December 23, 1926 – December 4, 2009), better known by her stage name Leticia Palma, was an actress who worked in Mexican cinema. She was most famous for her role in Roberto Gavaldón's ''En la palma de tu mano'', whi ...
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Julián Soler Julián Soler (born Julián Díaz Pavia; 17 February 1907 – 5 May 1977) was a Mexican film director, actor, and screenwriter of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In his career spanning half a century, Soler received two Ariel Award nominations ...
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Miguel Inclán Miguel Inclán (1897–1956) was a Mexican film actor.Agrasánchez p.159 He became known for his villainous roles during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Selected filmography * ''Nobleza ranchera'' (1938) - Pánfilo * '' The Cemetery of the Eag ...
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Antonio Badú Antonio Badú (August 13, 1914 – June 29, 1993) was a Mexican film actor and producer.de la Mora p.90 He appeared in more than sixty films during his career, which began during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Selected filmography * '' ¡Ay qu ...
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María Félix María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña (; 8 April 1914 – 8 April 2002) was a Mexican actress and singer. Along with Pedro Armendáriz and Dolores del Río, she was one of the most successful figures of Latin American cinema in the 1940s an ...
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María Elena Velasco María Elena Velasco Fragoso (17 December 1940 – 1 May 2015) was a Mexican actress, comedian, singer-songwriter and dancer. She is best known for creating and portraying La India María, a comical character based on indigenous Mexican women. E ...
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Beatriz Aguirre Beatriz Ofelia Aguirre Valdes (March 21, 1926 – September 29, 2019) was a Mexican film and television actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the tradition ...
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María Antonieta Pons Maria Antonieta Pons (November 6, 1922 in Havana, Cuba – August 20, 2004 in Mexico City) was a Cuban-born Mexican film actress and dancer. She was the first actress in the ''Rumberas films'' in the 1940s and 1950s, in the Golden Age of Mexican ...
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Lupe Mayorga Mexican cinema dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ideal ...
† * Tito Junco † *
Andres Soler Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...
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Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...
– First Mexican international star † *
Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...
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Delia Magaña Delia Magaña (February 2, 1903 – March 31, 1996) was a Mexican film and television actress, singer, and dancer. Life Although she started as a silent film actress, Magaña became best known for her comic supporting roles in her later years. ...
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Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...
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Katy Jurado María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado, was a Mexican actress. Jurado began her acting career in Mexico during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In 1951, she was rec ...
– First Mexican Academy Award nominee † *
Rita Macedo Rita Macedo (April 21, 1925 – December 5, 1993) was a Mexican actress and dressmaker. She was nominated for an Ariel Award for her 1956 performance in "Ensayo de un crimen" and in 1991 for a TVyNovelas Prize for "Alcanzar una estrella". She wo ...
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Carmen Montejo Carmen Montejo (born María Teresa Sánchez González; May 26, 1925 – February 25, 2013) was a Cuban actress. Biography Real name: María Teresa Sánchez González. Montejo started her career in radio as a child at the age of 6 in Cuba in ...
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Pedro Infante Pedro Infante Cruz (; 18 November 1917 – 15 April 1957) was a Mexican ranchera music singer and actor, whose career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema. His popularity spread across Latin America. Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa ...
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Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
– First Mexican Academy Award winner † * Eva "Chachita" Muñoz † *
Emilia Guiú Emilia Guiú Estivella (March 21, 1922 – February 7, 2004) was a Spanish-Mexican actress who appeared mainly in Cinema of Mexico, Mexican films, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She made over 60 film app ...
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Roberto Cañedo Roberto Cañedo Ramírez (30 March 1919 – 16 June 1999), better known as Roberto Cañedo, was a Mexican actor of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. During his career, he appeared in over 300 films. Cañedo received two Ariel Award for Best Act ...
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Víctor Junco Víctor Ciriaco Junco Tassinari (18 June 1917 – 6 July 1988), known professionally as Víctor Junco, was a Mexican actor. He was considered a star of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. During his career, Junco received two Ariel Award nominatio ...
† * Luis Aguilar † *
Meche Barba Meche Barba (born Mercedes Barba Feito; September 24, 1922 – January 14, 2000) was an American-born Mexican film actress and dancer of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was considered one of the icons of the "Rumbera ...
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Ernesto Alonso Ernesto Alonso (February 28, 1917 – August 7, 2007) was a Mexican producer, director, cinematographer and actor. He was nicknamed "''El Señor Telenovela''" ("Mr. Soap Opera") because most of his work centered on telenovelas known around the w ...
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Rosario Granados Rosario Granados (March 12, 1925 – March 25, 1997) was an Argentine-born Mexican film actress known for her roles in Mexican cinema. Granados starred in the 1949 comedy ''The Great Madcap'' (1949).Acevedo-Muñoz p.ix Selected filmography * ''Th ...
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Tin Tan Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, ...
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Marga López Catalina Margarita López Ramos (; June 21, 1924 – July 4, 2005), known professionally as Marga López, was an Argentine-born Mexican actress. Biography Born Catalina Margarita López Ramos in June 21st, 1924 in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argen ...
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Prudencia Grifell Prudencia María Victoria Grifell Masip (27 December 1879 – 7 June 1970) was a Spanish-Mexican actress and comedian. Biography Early life Grifell was born to Spanish stage actors and started her acting career herself at the age of ten in the ...
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Columba Domínguez Columba Domínguez Alarid (March 4, 1929 – August 13, 2014) was a Mexican actress, singer, and painter. She is remembered particularly for her performance in the film ''Pueblerina'' (1949). Biography Early life Columba Domínguez Alarid was bo ...
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Rafael Banquells Rafael Banquells (born Rafael Banquells Garafulla; 25 June 1917 – 27 October 1990) was a Cuban-born Mexican actor, director and TV producer known in Mexico as Rafael Banquells (I). Biography Banquells was born on 25 June 1917 in La Habana, ...
† * Fannie Kauffman "Vitola" † * Fernando Fernández † * Miroslava † *
Ninón Sevilla Emelia Pérez Castellanos (10 November 19211 January 2015), known professionally as Ninón Sevilla, was a Cuban-Mexican actress and dancer. Early life Sevilla was born and raised in Centro Habana, a popular section of Havana. As a youth, she th ...
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Libertad Lamarque Libertad Lamarque Bouza (; 24 November 1908 – 12 December 2000) was a Mexican-Argentine actress and singer, one of the icons of the Golden Age of Argentine and Mexican cinema. She achieved fame throughout Latin America, and became known as " ...
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Joaquín Cordero Joaquín Cordero (; August 16, 1922 – February 19, 2013) was a Mexican actor of the cinema, theatre and telenovelas. Biography Shortly after his birth, Cordero's family moved to Mexico City, and in the following years he studied in a seminary ...
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Marcelo Chávez Marcelo Chávez (13 March 1911 – 14 February 1970) was a Mexican film actor. He frequently co-starred with comedian Germán Valdés, known as Tin Tan.Baugh p.268 Selected filmography * ''Summer Hotel'' (1944) *'' The Disobedient Son'' (1945) * ...
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Blanca Estela Pavón María Blanca Estela Pavón Vasconcelos (February 21, 1926 – September 26, 1949) was a Mexican film actress and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She appeared in many classic films of the 1940s as a young woman. Her career peaked ...
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Rita Montaner Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda (20 August 1900 – 17 April 1958), known as Rita Montaner, was a Cuban singer, pianist and actress. In Cuban parlance, she was a '' vedette'' (a star), and was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and ...
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Lilia Prado Lilia (Latin plural, meaning "lilies" in English; singular, ''lilium'') are pit traps arranged in a quincunx pattern dug by the Roman armies in front of their defences. Frequently they had sharpened stakes set inside them as an extra obstacle to a ...
† * Arturo Martínez † * Martha Roth † *
Magda Guzmán María Magdalena Guzmán Garza (16 May 1931 – 12 March 2015), better known as Magda Guzmán, was a Mexican film and television actress. She died of a myocardial infarction. Filmography Films Television Archive footage Awards ...
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Rodolfo Acosta Rodolfo Pérez Acosta (July 29, 1920 – November 7, 1974) was a Mexican-American character actor who became known for his roles as Mexican outlaws or American Indians in Hollywood western films. He was sometimes credited as Rudolfo Acosta ...
† * Su Muy Key † * Silvia Derbéz † *
Rebeca Iturbide Rebeca de Iturbide Betancourt (1924–2003) was a Mexican-American actress of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, who was known for her versatility, being able to play comedy or drama. She was a pioneer in television, playing roles in the mid-195 ...
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Roberto Cobo Roberto Garcìa Romero (20 February 1930 – 2 August 2002), better known as Roberto Cobo, was a Mexican actor. He appeared in more than eighty films between 1947 and 2002. Partial filmography References External links * 1930 births ...
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Chula Prieto Chula Prieto (1929–1960) was a Mexican film actress.Agrasánchez p.72 Selected filmography * ''My General's Women'' (1951) * '' You Had To Be a Gypsy'' (1953) * ''Your Memory and Me'' (1953) * ''The Plebeian ''The Plebeian'' (Spanish: ''El ple ...
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Jorge Mistral Modesto Llosas Rosell (24 November 1920 – 20 April 1972) known professionally as Jorge Mistral was a Spanish film actor. During the 1940s, he became a star in films produced by CIFESA. In the 1950s, he lived and worked in México and ap ...
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Ramón Gay Ramón Gay (born Ramón García Gay; November 28, 1917 – May 28, 1960) was a Mexican film actor. He was one of the stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, known to horror film fans for his role in '' The Aztec Mummy'' trilogy of films in the ...
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Adalberto Martínez Adalberto Martínez Chávez (25 January 1916 – April 4, 2003), better known in the entertainment world as Resortes, was a renowned Mexican actor. Known primarily for his talent as a comedian, Resortes was also a dancer. His stage name is Spanis ...
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Arturo Soto Rangel Arturo Soto Rangel (March 12, 1882 – May 25, 1965) was a Mexican film, television, and stage actor. Soto was best known for appearing in over 250 Mexican films. He appeared in one American movie, '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', which wo ...
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Rubén Rojo Rubén Rojo Pinto (1922–1993) was a Spanish-Mexican actor.Durgnat p.171 Selected filmography * ''Ahora seremos felices'' (1938) - Radio Station boy #2 (uncredited) * '' My Children'' (1944) - Eduardo * ''Imprudencia'' (1944) * ''Adán, Eva y ...
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Linda Christian Linda Christian (born Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer; November 13, 1923 – July 22, 2011) was a Mexican film actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara ...
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Ariadne Welter Ariadne Welter (June 29, 1930 – December 13, 1998) was a Mexican movie actress of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She appeared in the Luis Buñuel film ''The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz'' (1955). In 1956 she starred in the film '' ...
† * Lilia del Valle † *
Antonio Espino José Antonio Hipólito Espino Mora (13 August 1910 – 24 November 1993), better known as ''Clavillazo'' (Great Little Nail) was a Mexican comedic actor who was mostly popular during the 1940s to the 1960s. History His catchphrases were "''"¡P ...
"Clavillazo" † *
Enrique Rambal Enrique Rambal (8 May 1924 – 15 December 1971) was a Spanish-Mexican actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1952 and 1971. Enrique had married actresses Mercedes Borque and Lucy Gallardo. Selected filmography * '' The Martyr of ...
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Ana Bertha Lepe Ana Bertha Lepe Jiménez (; 12 September 1934 – 24 October 2013) was a Mexican actress and beauty queen. In 1953, she was Señorita México (Miss Mexico) and the third runner-up at the Miss Universe contest. Career She made her film debu ...
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Evangelina Elizondo Gloria Evangelina Elizondo López-Llera (28 April 1929 – 2 October 2017) was a Mexican actress and singer from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She starred in movies, television and theater. She was an accomplished artist having studied at t ...
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Sara Montiel María Antonia Abad Fernández MML (10 March 1928 – 8 April 2013), known professionally as Sara Montiel, also Sarita Montiel, was a Spanish actress and singer, who also held Mexican citizenship since 1951. She began her career in the 1940s an ...
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Eulalio González Eulalio "Lalo" González Ramírez (16 December 1921 – 1 September 2003), nicknamed "Piporro", was a Mexican actor, humorist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, announcer, film director, and film producer. Early life González was born in the home ...
"Piporro" † *
Irasema Dilián Irasema Dilián (born Eva Irasema Warschalowska; May 27, 1924 – April 16, 1996) was an actress. Born in Brazil to Polish parents, she began her film career in Italy, and appeared in Italian, Spanish and Mexican films. Biography Irasema Dili ...
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Antonio Aguilar José Pascual Antonio Aguilar Márquez Barraza (17 May 191919 June 2007) was a Mexican singer, actor, songwriter, equestrian, film producer, and screenwriter with a dominating career in music. He recorded over 150 albums, which sold 25 mill ...
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Maricruz Olivier María de la Cruz Olivier Obergh (September 19, 1933 – October 10, 1984), known professionally as Maricruz Olivier, was a Mexican actress of film, television, and theater. She is best remembered for starring in the 1959 version of the tele ...
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Lucy Gallardo Lucy Gallardo (December 13, 1929 – August 11, 2012) was an Argentine-born Mexican actress and screenwriter. She was best known for her numerous roles in Mexican cinema, as well as Mexico's telenovelas. Gallardo was the widow of Mexican actor E ...
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Germán Robles Germán Horacio Robles San Agustín (March 20, 1929 – November 21, 2015) was a Spanish actor who came to Mexico when he was 17, after Spain's civil war. In Mexican cinema, he is best known for his amazing characterization of vampires in many c ...
† * Jaime Fernández † *
Francisco Rabal Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Raba ...
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Pina Pellicer Josefina Yolanda Pellicer López de Llergo (3 April 1934 – 4 December 1964), known professionally as Pina Pellicer, was a Mexican actress known in her country for portraying the female lead in '' Macario'' (1960), and in the United States as ...
† * Teresa Velázquez † *
Julio Alemán Julio Méndez Alemán (November 29, 1933 – April 11, 2012) was a Mexican actor.Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta "El Santo" † * Alejandro Muñoz Moreno "Blue Demon" † *
Fanny Cano Fanny Cano Damián (28 February 1944 – 7 December 1983) was a Mexican actress and producer. Death Cano died on 7 December 1983, in an airplane accident in Madrid, Spain. Her flight was an Iberia 727 which was about to take off for Rome in co ...
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Claudio Brook Claudio Brook (born Claude Sydney Brook Marnat, 28 August 1927 – 18 October 1995) was a Mexican actor. Life Born in Mexico City, Brook had a prolific career, making around 100 film and television appearances in his 38 years as an actor. ...
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Mauricio Garcés Mauricio Feres Yázbek (December 16, 1926 – February 27, 1989), known professionally as Erasmo Perez, was a Mexican actor and comedian. Personal life and career Garcés was of Lebanese descent and was born in the Mexican port of Tampico, Tama ...
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David Reynoso David Reynoso (29 January 1926 – 9 June 1994) was a Mexican actor. He appeared in more than 170 films and television shows between 1955 and 1994. He was also a Deputy of The Seventh Federal Electoral District of the Federal District and die ...
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Enrique Álvarez Félix Enrique Álvarez Félix (5 April 1934 – 24 May 1996) was a Mexican actor, known for his roles in telenovelas and in films, such as '' The Monastery of the Vultures'' and '' The House of the Pelican''. Family and personal life Enrique Álvare ...
† * Barbara Angely † *
Pedro Armendáriz Jr. Pedro Armendáriz Bohr (April 6, 1940 – December 26, 2011), better known by his stage name Pedro Armendáriz Jr., was a Mexican actor. Life and career Pedro Armendáriz Bohr was born in Mexico City to Mexican-American actor Pedro Armendáriz ...
† * Mario Almada † *
Rosita Fornés Rosita Fornés (née Rosalía Lourdes Elisa Palet Bonavia; February 11, 1923June 10, 2020) was a Cuban-American singer and film actress. She was noted for her multifaceted career in the entertainment industry of Cuba. She worked in cinema, the t ...


Directors

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Luis Alcoriza Luis Alcoriza de la Vega (September 5, 1918 – December 3, 1992) was a respected Mexican screenwriter, film director, and actor. Alcoriza was born in Spain and, exiled because of the Spanish Civil War, established himself in Mexico from 1940 ...
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Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
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Arcady Boytler Arcady Sergeevich Boytler Rososky (August 31, 1895 – November 24, 1965) was a producer, screenwriter, and director most renowned for his films during the golden age of Mexican cinema. Boytler was born in Moscow, Russia. During the 1920s, he ...
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Julio Bracho Julio Bracho Gavilán (17 July 1909 – 26 April 1978) was a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Bracho was born as ninth of eleven children of Julio Bracho y Zuloaga and his wife Luz Pérez Gavilán. His sister Guadalupe Bracho Pérez- ...
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Juan Bustillo Oro Juan Bustillo Oro (2 June 1904 – 10 June 1989) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter and producer, whose career spanned over 38 years. Among his works there are '' In the Times of Don Porfirio'', '' Here's the Point'', '' Arm in Arm Down t ...
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René Cardona René Cardona (October 8, 1905 in Havana, Cuba – April 25, 1988, in Mexico City) was a director, actor, producer, screenwriter, and film editor in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Biography René Cardona was born in Havana, Cuba, on Oc ...
† * René Cardona Jr. † *
Miguel Contreras Torres Miguel Contreras Torres (September 28, 1899 – June 5, 1981) was a Mexican-born actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. Selected filmography Director * '' Juárez y Maximiliano'' (1934) * '' No te engañes corazón'' (1936) * ''La palo ...
† * Rafael Corkidi † *
Miguel M. Delgado Miguel Melitón Delgado Pardavé (17 May 1905 – 2 January 1994) was a Mexican film director and screenwriter best known for directing thirty-three of Cantinflas' films, under contract of Posa Films. He directed 139 films between 1941 and 19 ...
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José Díaz Morales José Díaz Morales (1908-1976) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director.Bentley p.103 He emigrated to Mexico following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Selected filmography Director * ' (1942) * ''Adultery Adultery (from Lati ...
† * Emilio ("El Indio") Fernández † *
Fernando de Fuentes Fernando de Fuentes Carrau (December 12, 1894 – July 4, 1958) was a Mexican film director, considered a pioneer in the film industry worldwide. He is perhaps best known for directing the films ''El prisionero trece'', ''El compadre Mendoza'', an ...
† * Alejandro Galindo † *
Roberto Gavaldón Roberto Gavaldón (June 7, 1909 in Jiménez, Chihuahua – September 4, 1986 in Mexico City) was a Mexican film director. Eight of Gavaldón's films were featured on the list 100 Best Movies of the Cinema of Mexico. His 1958 film ''Ash Wed ...
† * Rogelio A. González † *
Servando González Servando González Hernández (15 May 1923 – 5 October 2008) was a Mexican film director. He died in Mexico City on 5 October 2008, at the age of 85. Servando González started as an apprentice (gofer) at Estudios Clasa, a Mexican film studio. ...
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Alberto Gout Alberto Gout (1913–1966) was a Mexican screenwriter, producer and film director.Biltereyst & Gennari p.76 Selected filmography * '' Saint Francis of Assisi'' (1944) * '' Smoke in the Eyes'' (1946) * '' The Well-paid'' (1948) * '' Revenge'' ...
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Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Delgado (22 January 1942 – 13 January 2020) was a Mexican film director, often compared to Spain's Pedro Almodóvar. Born in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, Hermosillo's films often explore the hypoc ...
† * Mario Hernández † *
Miguel Morayta Miguel Morayta (15 August 1907 – 19 June 2013) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He directed 74 films between 1944 and 1978. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Morayta was a Spanish artillery officer, who joined the Republi ...
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Juan Orol Juan Rogelio García García, better known as Juan Orol (August 4, 1897 in Lalín, Pontevedra, Spain – May 26, 1988 in Mexico City, Mexico) was a Mexican-Spanish actor, producer, screenwriter and film director. He was known as ''The Kin ...
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Matilde Landeta Matilde Soto Landeta (September 20, 1910 – January 26, 1999) was a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter, the first female to serve in those roles during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Her films focused on the portrayal of strong, realistic fem ...
† * Ismael Rodriguez † *
Julio Bracho Julio Bracho Gavilán (17 July 1909 – 26 April 1978) was a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Bracho was born as ninth of eleven children of Julio Bracho y Zuloaga and his wife Luz Pérez Gavilán. His sister Guadalupe Bracho Pérez- ...
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Ninón Sevilla Emelia Pérez Castellanos (10 November 19211 January 2015), known professionally as Ninón Sevilla, was a Cuban-Mexican actress and dancer. Early life Sevilla was born and raised in Centro Habana, a popular section of Havana. As a youth, she th ...
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Gilberto Martínez Solares Mario Gilberto Agustin Martinez Solares (January 19, 1906 – January 18, 1997) was a Mexican director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and actor who is considered one of the most prolific filmmakers in Mexican cinema having directed more than ...
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Carlos Enrique Taboada Carlos Enrique Taboada Walker (July 18, 1929 - April 15, 1997) was a Mexican screenwriter and director. He is best known for his supernatural Terror and suspense films including Hasta el viento tiene miedo, Más negro que la noche, Veneno par ...
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Salvador Toscano Salvador Toscano Barragán (22 March 187214 April 1947), also known as Salvador Toscano, was a director, producer and distributor of early Mexican cinema films. He was Mexico's first filmmaker.Standish, pp. 120–121Raat, p. 35, ''The fath ...
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Miguel Zacarías Miguel Zacarías Nogaim (19 March 1905 – 20 April 2006) was a Mexican film director, producer, and writer. Career Zacarías began directing for film in 1933. Even from his early career he developed a reputation for recognizing new acting ...


Cinematographers

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Gabriel Figueroa Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (April 24, 1907 – April 27, 1997) was a Mexican cinematographer who is regarded as one of the greatest cinematographers of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He has worked in over 200 films, which cover a broad range of ...
† * Alex Phillips


Composers

* Gonzalo Curiel † *
Manuel Esperón Manuel Esperón González (August 3, 1911 – February 13, 2011) was a Mexican songwriter and composer.
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Agustín Lara Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino (; October 30, 1897 – November 6, 1970), known as Agustín Lara, was a Mexican composer and performer of songs and boleros. He is recogn ...
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Raúl Lavista Raúl Lavista (31 October 1913 – 19 October 1980) was a Mexican composer of film scores. Lavista worked prolifically during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, and was credited on more than three hundred different productions. He is the father of ...


See also

*
Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...
*
List of highest-grossing Mexican films The following is a list of the highest-grossing films from the Mexican film industry. __TOC__ Box office gross revenue The following is a list of the highest-grossing films within the Mexican film industry, based on box office gross revenue. ...
*
Lists of Mexican films A list of the most notable films produced in the Cinema of Mexico split by decade of release. For an alphabetical list of articles on Mexican films see :Mexican films. 1896-1919 * List of Mexican films of the 1890s * List of Mexican films of ...
*
Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas The Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences ( es, Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas, AMACC) is a professional honorary organization founded on July 3, 1946, in Mexico City to promote the dissemination, research, ...
Mexican Academy of Film *
Horror films of Mexico Horror films in Mexico form part of cinema of the country. The rise of horror films in Mexico in the 1930s started with films like ''El fantasma del convento'' and '' Dos monjes'' from the writer-director Juan Bustillo Oro. Until about the 1950 ...
* Oaxaca FilmFest *
Expresión en Corto International Film Festival The Guanajuato International Film Festival or GIFF is an annual international film festival, held since 1998. It is held during the final week of July in San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato City, Mexico. GIFF was formerly known as Expresión en Co ...
*
Television in Mexico Television is a popular form of entertainment in Mexico, with mass entertainment playing an important role in creating a national, unified culture. The ''telenovelas'' are very traditional in Mexico and are translated to many languages and seen al ...
*
List of cinema of the world This is a list of cinema of the world by continent and country. By continent *Cinema of Africa *Cinema of Asia ** South Asian cinema **Southeast Asian cinema * Cinema of North America * Cinema of Latin America * Cinema of Europe * Cinema of Ocean ...
*
List of film festivals This is a list of existing major film festivals, sorted by continent. The world's oldest film festival is the Mostra internazionale d'arte cinematografica (''Venice Film Festival''), while the most prestigious film festivals in the world, known ...
*
Lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...


References


Further reading

* * * Ayala Blanco, Jorge (1997) ''La aventura del cine mexicano: En la época de oro y después'' ed. Grijalba * *De los Reyes, Aurelio. ''Los orígenes del cine en México (1896-1900)''. Mexico City: UNAM 1973. *De los Reyes, Aurelio. ''Un medio siglo de cine mexicano (1896-1947)''. Mexico City: Trillas 1987. *De los Reyes, Aurelio, David Ramón, María Luisa Amador, and Rodolfo Rivera. ''80 años de cine en México''. Mexico City: UNAM 1977. * García Riera, Emilio (1986) ''Época de oro del cine mexicano'' Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) * García Riera, Emilio (1992–97) ''Historia documental del cine mexicano'' Universidad de Guadalajara, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA), Secretaría de Cultura del Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco y el Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE) * García Gustavo y AVIÑA, Rafael (1993) ''Época de oro del cine mexicano'' ed. Clío * Herschfield, Joanne (1996) ''Mexican Cinema, Mexican Woman (1940–1950)'' University of Arizona Press * Maciel, David R. ''Mexico's Cinema: A Century of Film and Filmmakers'', Wilmington, Delaware: SR Books, 1999. * Mora, Carl J. ''Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society, 1896–2004'', Berkeley: University of California Press, 3rd edition 2005. * Noble, Andrea, ''Mexican National Cinema'', Taylor & Francis, 2005, * Paranguá, Paulo Antonio (1995) ''Mexican Cinema'' British Film Institute (BFI) Publishing en asociación con el Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE) y el Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA) * Paxman, Andrew. "Who Killed the Mexican Film Industry? The Decline of the Golden Age, 1946-1960." ''Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y el Caribe'' 29, no. 1 (2018): 9-33. *Pick, Zuzana M. ''Constructing the Image of the Mexican Revolution: Cinema and the Archive''. Austin: University of Texas Press 2010. * Pineda Franco, Adela. ''The Mexican Revolution on the World Stage: Intellectuals and Film in the Twentieth Century''. Albany: SUNY Press 2019. *Ramírez Berg, Charles. ''Cinema of Solitude: A Critical Study of Mexican Film, 1967-1983''. Austin: University of Texas Press 1992. *Reyes Nevares, Beatriz. ''The Mexican Cinema: Interviews with Thirteen Directors''. Trans. by Carl J. Mora and Elizabeth Gard. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1976.


External links


Top 10 Movies from Mexico in IMDb


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cinema Of Mexico