Fray José de Guadalupe Mojica (14 September 1895 – 20 September 1974) was a Mexican
Franciscan friar
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
and former
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
and
film actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...
. He was known in the music and film fields as José Mojica.
[ (Spanish)]
Mojica joined the world of the American film industry before entering religious life. Together with
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
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 ...
, he was among the few Mexican people who made history in the early years 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, ...
. Regarding his activity as a friar, singer and actor, he felt that religion and art have never been at conflict. ''If God gave me the grace of voice and singing skills, I use them for His glory'', he explained.
[
]
Early life
Born in San Gabriel, Jalisco
San Gabriel ( ) is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico 141 km from the capital of Guadalajara (formerly Ciudad Venustiano Carranza). The municipality covers an area of 449.01 km². It was the birthplace of Mexi ...
, Mojica was raised in a coffee and sugar plantation community until the age of six, after his step-father Francisco died. He never knew his real father. When his mother's extended family suffered financial challenges, they moved with limited means to 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 ...
where he studied at the Academy of San Carlos
The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...
and later attended the National School of Agriculture.[
Mojica wrote about the Revolution and Counter Revolution, the closing of the military academy due to 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 ...
armed conflict, and his personal struggle from these events, in his book "I, a Sinner".[ (Spanish)] This experience led him to find his true calling. He began taking private voice lessons while studying at the National Conservatory of Music of Mexico
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
.[
While at the Conservatory, Mojica also developed skills in drama and displayed a particular gift for languages, there mastering English, Italian and French. He learned to play the guitar and Mexican songs and practiced dance, athletics and horse riding.][ He would eventually begin working as an operatic tenor at the Teatro Ideal. On 5 October 1916 he debuted at the Teatro Arbeu, playing the Count Almaviva role in ]Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
's opera ''The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
''.[ The following year, he performed the role of ]Rodrigo
Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' (Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last Vis ...
in Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's ''Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.
Th ...
''.[
]
Career in the United States
Shortly after the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
entered World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, funded with $500, Mojica moved to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and worked petty jobs before joining an opera company. In his spare time, he attended performances of Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
at the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
.[ The famed Caruso, having met Mojica in 1919, was impressed with Mojica's vocal skills and helped him obtain a contract with the ]Chicago Civic Opera
The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financia ...
company.[ ] He debuted on 22 November and performed the minor role of Lord Arthur Bucklaw in Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
's ''Lucia di Lammermoor
''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''.
...
'' that same year,[ an opera loosely based upon Sir ]Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
's historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor
''The Bride of Lammermoor'' is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819, one of the Waverley novels. The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south-east Scotland, shortly before the Act of Union of 1707 (in the first editio ...
''.
While in Chicago he landed secondary roles, with his career slowly gaining momentum in 1921 when playing leading parts in Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
´s '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' and Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...
's ''The Love for Three Oranges
''The Love for Three Oranges'', Op. 33, also known by its French language title ' (russian: Любовь к трём апельсинам, links=no, ''Lyubov' k tryom apel'sinam''), is a satirical opera by Sergei Prokofiev. Its French libretto ...
'', the former alongside renowned soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Mary Garden
A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In the New Testament, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary ...
. Prokofiev attended Mojica's rehearsals where Mojica performed his first performance on 30 December, singing in French.[ Mojica also befriended ]Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...
during the singer's visit to Chicago. Under Chaliapin's guidance, he played the role of Shúyskiy in Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
's ''Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
''.[
In 1924 Mojica sang three roles at the San Francisco Opera. He appeared as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Rodolfo in La Boheme. These were his only appearances in San Francisco.
]
Caruso made two additional introductions that impacted his career. In the first. Caruso recommended Mojica to Edison to become one of Edison's Three Tenors. The second Caruso sending letters of introduction along with Mojica to Hollywood where young voices were needed to sing in 'talkies
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
'. Going to California, and except for individual trips back to Chicago and New York for singing engagements, his career continued in films in Hollywood and throughout Latin America.
In 1933, after leaving Chicago, Mojica made a trip across the Atlantic, singing at the Mexican Embassy in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and performing in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.[ He also performed at the Chicago Opera as Fenton in ]Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's ''Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
'' during the 1940 season.[
]
Recording singing career
The versatility of Mojica is reflected in his extensive discography, which he recorded for 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 invention ...
and the Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...
.
By the time Mojica recorded for Edison in 1925, he had become an important figure at the Chicago Opera, moving into principal roles. He left Edison and joined the Victor roster in 1927 and made several successful early sound films. He moved comfortably during the 1930s through the worlds of opera, film, and concerts, but left this milieu in 1943 to become a priest. Like Edison, Mojica would eventually become completely deaf.
His popular musical recordings show an attractive lyrical voice being used with skill and imagination in songs such as ', composed for Mojica by María Grever
María Grever (14 September 1885 – 15 December 1951) was the first female Mexican composer to achieve international acclaim.Rodríguez, Lee M. L. María Grever: Poeta Y Compositora. Potomac, Md: Scripta Humanistica, 1994. Print. She is best kn ...
, released by Victor in 1927. The song became an instant success and has been recorded by countless singers over the years.
Hollywood career
Opera work aside, Mojica found time to pursue an acting career in 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, ...
. To this end, he began to court film Directors, one of whom was King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...
. When Vidor learned that Mojica wanted to build a hacienda with a music salon in which to 'showcase his talent', he introduced Mojica to the architect John Byers who had recently finished designing Vidor's home. Mojica told everyone he was building his mother a "replica of the hacienda her family had lost during secularization." That so irritated Byers that he removed the hacienda from the list of homes he'd designed.
The Hacienda Mojica in Santa Monica Canyon where he later lived with his mother, Dona Virginia, was in an idyllic setting on Santa Monica Creek with neighbors Leo Carrillo
Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo (; August 6, 1880 – September 10, 1961), known professionally as Leo Carrillo, was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist.
He was best known for playing Pancho in the television ...
and 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 ...
as well as the remnants of the original Mexican Land Grant
The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...
family. This home not only served as Mojica's "showcase" but through his constant entertaining it quickly became the center of Hollywood's Latino actors community. "Mojica's Rancho on Santa Monica Creek was a place where we could relax and be ourselves, away from Hollywood's expectations of players under contracts."
This home provided him with 'a stage' in which to perform and garner attention from the nearby Studios. Mojica signed a contract with Fox Film Corporation
The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...
in 1930, making his debut the same year as a Spanish outlaw in the romantic musical ''One Mad Kiss
''One Mad Kiss'' is a 1930 American musical film directed by Marcel Silver and James Tinling and starring José Mojica, Mona Maris and Antonio Moreno. The film was not a commercial success and lost $263,000 on its release. A separate Spanish-lang ...
'' (1930), co-starring Argentine actress Mona Maris
Mona Maris (born Mona Maria Emita Capdeville or Maria Rosa Amita Capdeville, November 7, 1903 – March 23, 1991) was an Argentine film actress.
Early life
Mona Maris was born Mona Maria Emita Capdeville. Some sources spell her last name as C ...
.[ He co-starred with her in other films, and often alongside Spanish actresses ]Conchita Montenegro
Conchita Montenegro (born Concepción Andrés Picado; September 11, 1911 – April 22, 2007) was a Spanish model, dancer, stage and screen actress. She was educated in a convent in Madrid.
Multitalented
Montenegro first worked professionally ...
and Rosita Moreno
Rosita Moreno (born Gabriela Victoria Viñolas; March 18, 1907 – April 25, 1993) was a Spanish film actress who worked in cinema in Hollywood, Argentina, Mexico, and in her native Spain.
Biography
Born in Madrid, Spain, Moreno was the daugh ...
.[ By finding himself in leading roles through his acting career, he was able to adapt to varied roles which included Latin lovers, a Russian cossack, Sultan of a harem, and a curious impersonation of the legendary ]Dick Turpin
Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...
.[ For the rest of the decade, he also filmed in ]Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
, 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 and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
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 ...
.
A short time before his retirement, Mojica originally performed the song ''Solamente una vez'', written by 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 ...
, in the 1941 film '' Melodías de América''. This song was known later as ''You Belong to My Heart
"You Belong to My Heart" is the name of an English-language version of the Mexican Bolero song "Solamente una vez" (''Only Once'', in English). This song was composed by Mexican songwriter Agustín Lara and originally performed by singer Ana Marí ...
'', with English lyrics written by Ray Gilbert
Ray Gilbert (September 5, 1912 – March 3, 1976) was an American lyricist. He grew up in Hartford, Connecticut.
Career
Gilbert is best remembered for the lyrics to the Oscar-winning song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the film ''Song of the South'', w ...
, and has been recorded by many other artists, including Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...
, Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
, Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
, Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...
and Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
.
Antigua Villa Santa Monica
Antigua Villa Santa Monica is located at San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the city lies from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Queré ...
, a city and municipality in the state of Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
in North-Central Mexico. This estate was built in the 17th century with Spanish mining wealth when the nearby mountains were rich with silver. Abandoned at the time of the Mexican Revolution, the villa sat in ruins for years; Mojica acquired it in 1933 and rebuilt it for his mother, whose health was declining. Intrigued by the beauty of this community, Mojica entertained lavishly at Villa Santa Monica (named after his hacienda in California.) It was his joy to introduce his professional friends to the beauty of Colonial City and his guests included composers, writers, opera stars, actors and painters. Mojica envisioned an artistic enclave for San Miguel. Guests from the artistic community included 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, Pedro Vargas
Pedro Vargas Mata (San Miguel de Allende, 29 April 1906 – Mexico City, 30 October 1989) was a Mexican tenor and actor, from the golden age of Mexican cinema, participating in more than 70 films. He was known as the "Nightingale of the Ameri ...
and John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
to this villa. Today, some trees on the property retain the nameplates of the celebrities who planted them.[ Fate stepped into the picture when Mojica met two young Americans travelling across Mexico on a train and invited them to visit him in San Miguel. They did, and they returned to found Belles Artes and the Instituto Allende. Today, Mojica's cultural mecca vision for the city is rewarded by San Miguel de Allende recognizing him a Distinguished Citizen and his former home on Parque Juarez being operated as Hotel Villa Santa Monica,]
www.santamonica.mx
a luxurious B&B on a street named Padre Mojica. The Antigua Villa Santa Monica became a prestigious hotel in the mid 1940s after the death of his mother.
The death of his mother in 1942 led him to reconsider his life. Two years later, he gave up his professional career and joined the Franciscan Order
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
in Peru, distributing his estate mainly to the religious order. But first he endowed an orphanage in San Miguel.
Religious life
Even after retiring from acting, Mojica periodically performed to support laudable charitable causes.[ Following his career he left for Cuzco, Perú, entering the ]Monastery of San Francisco, Lima
The monumental complex of the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco of Lima, also known as "San Francisco el Grande" or "San Francisco de Jesús", is located in the Historic Center of Lima, Peru. This church together with the Sanctuary Nuestra S ...
and adopted the name of Fray Francisco José de Guadalupe Mojica. In Lima, Fray Mojica founded a school to train priests. Nevertheless, the lure of the stage could not be long absent from his life, for Mojica began directing amateur plays and later became a painter to continue his artistic legacy.[ Then, spanning the decades of the 1950s and 1960s, he appeared in a few films in order to collect money for his order, which included a concert tour of Central America to raise funds in 1954.
When Mojica became afflicted with temporary deafness, he was prompted by his superiors to write his autobiography, putting a halt to his singing. He finished his memoir, ''Yo pecador...'' (I, a Sinner) in 1956. The book sold more than three million copies in Spanish before its translation into English in 1963.][ A film adaptation of the book with the same title was released in 1959.]
Death
Mojica eventually lost his hearing entirely and became deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
. After suffering for years from acute hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...
, he died in 1974 of heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
at the Monastery of San Francisco in Lima, just six days after his 79th birthday.[
]
Notable recordings
Filmography
Sources
*Berger, Dina; Wood, Andrew Grant (2010). ''Holiday in Mexico: Critical Reflections on Tourism and Tourist Encounters'' – The Arrival of the Hollywood Star: José Mojica, page 188. Duke University Press Books.
*Lacy, Mary (2008). ''The Grove Book of Opera Singers'' – Mojica, José, page 328. Oxford University Press.
*Mojica, Fray José Francisco de Guadalupe – Autobiografía (1959). Editorial Jus (México).
References
External links
*
Jose Mojica in performance on Archive.org
(Spanish)
(Spanish)
Ópera, siempre – José Mojica archives and videos
(Spanish)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mojica, Jose
1896 births
1974 deaths
20th-century Mexican male actors
American male film actors
Mexican Franciscans
Golden Age of Mexican cinema
Mexican emigrants to the United States
Mexican male film actors
Mexican humanitarians
20th-century Mexican male opera singers
20th-century Peruvian Roman Catholic priests
Male actors from Jalisco
Singers from Jalisco
People from Lima
20th-century American male actors