fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
portrayed and created by actress
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 ...
racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
,
classism
Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...
, and
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
, although in all of these turmoils, María undoubtedly resolves them with hilarious acts of good-nature and morality. She has represented the poor
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
, the migrant worker, and even free-spirited nuns for over 30 years. She has been the lead character in 16 films and in a spin-off
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
entitled, ''
Ay María Qué Puntería
''Ay María qué puntería!'' ( en, María, what an aim!) is a Mexican sitcom, from Televisa. It centers on the adventures of an indigenous Mexican woman named La India María, who works as a maid in Mexico City.Mujer, casos de la vida real'' and ''
La familia P. Luche
''La familia P. Luche'' ( en, The P.Lush Family) is a Mexican family sitcom created by Eugenio Derbez. The series aired from August 7, 2002 to September 16, 2012 on the channel Canal de las Estrellas. It is a spin-off of a regular sketch on the ...
''.
Fictional character background
In her first film, she mentions that her hometown is "San José de los Burros". Nevertheless, different hometowns are suggested in other films. For example, her hometown is changed to "Chipitongo el Alto", for which she serves a term as municipal president in ''
La presidenta municipal
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'' (1975). In ''El que no corre... vuela!'' (1981), she mentions her hometown as "San Pablo Cuatro Venados". Other given hometowns are Nopalillo (Little Prickly Pear Cactus), San Bartolo Tezmelucan, among others.
Commute to Mexico City
Since La India María's rural hometown does not have many job opportunities, her cousin Eufemia invites her to work for a sophisticated aristocratic woman who is the countess of
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico wa ...
, 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 ...
. Her name is Doña Julia Escandón de León, Condesa del Valle. But María is robbed right when she gets off her train. With nowhere to go, María sells oranges with other women at a public park (which is illegal). A group of police officers arrest them, but María Nicolasa finds refuge in Doña Julia's limousine.
Migration to the United States
María was hired several times to work in the United States. First in ''OK, Mister Pancho'', where she crosses the border to
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
at the request of an American refugee with whom she quickly falls in love and names "Mr. Pancho". Second in ''Ni de aquí ni de allá'', she travels to
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and is contracted to work as a housemaid for two American tourists, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. However, she is distracted and goes into a bathroom at the airport in L. A., and witnesses a murder. The murderer pursues her all over the city, as she finds work in a Mexican restaurant, and then as a maid for a sick American entrepreneur, who ends up being a drug trafficker that is arrested at the end.
Cameo appearances
*In '' Mujer, casos de la vida real'', an episode entitled ''Amor incondicional'', she portrays a discriminated maid and nanny.
*In ''
La familia P. Luche
''La familia P. Luche'' ( en, The P.Lush Family) is a Mexican family sitcom created by Eugenio Derbez. The series aired from August 7, 2002 to September 16, 2012 on the channel Canal de las Estrellas. It is a spin-off of a regular sketch on the ...
'', she appears in an episode as the housemaid of "Exelsa".
She also had cameos in the dramedy series ''
Papá Soltero
''Papá soltero'' (Single Father) is a Mexican television comedy series produced by Luis de Llano Macedo from 1987 to 1994. It starred singer César Costa as well as actors Gerardo Quiroz, Edith Márquez and Luis Mario Quiroz, Jorge Pablo Carrillo ...
'' and the comedy show ''
La hora pico
La Hora Pico (English: Rush Hour) is a Mexican television sketch comedy show featured on the channel “Las Estrellas”. It was broadcast from September 2000 to September 2007. The program starred comedians such as Consuelo Duval, Miguel Galvan, ...
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...