''Angelitos negros'' (English: "Little Black Angels") is a 1948 Mexican drama film directed and co-written by Joselito Rodriguez and starring

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 ...

Plot

Jose Carlos Ruiz (

) is a famous singer that meets Ana Luisa de la Fuente (

Emilia Guiú Emilia Guiú Estivella (March 21, 1922 – February 7, 2004) was a Spanish-Mexican actress who appeared mainly in Mexican films, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She made over 60 film appearances between ...

) an assistant manager of a girls school. José Carlos begins to fall in love with her and they become engaged. Then Jose Carlos begins to realize that his future wife is prejudiced against

black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

, because she does not accept that he performs alongside

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

artists. Ana Luisa herself has a nanny called Merce (

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 ...

) that has cared for her all her life and is a

woman of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

, she is accustomed to her but openly dislikes her. José Carlos tries his best to resolve the conflicts that his wife's racist attitude brings to their family. Ana Luisa soon gives birth to a daughter who surprisingly turns out to be dark-skinned, horrifying Ana Luisa. They name her Belen (

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

). Belen suffers a lot because her mother does not love her because of her color. Because of that Belen gets paint on one occasion and paints her face white trying to be accepted by her mom. Ana Luisa blames Jose Carlos' family for having African ancestry. But José Carlos knows the truth. Father Francisco ( Nicolás Rodríguez) revealed to him that Ana Luisa's real mother is the nanny Merce who in her youth had an affair with her boss, Mr. de la Fuente. In order for her daughter to receive the benefits of inheriting a rich position, Merce renounced her motherhood to be close to her daughter, and took a role as a servant in the household. Nana Merce falls ill and Jose Carlos tries to bring Isabel (

Chela Castro Chela may refer to: * ''Chela'' (fish), a genus of small minnow-type fish in the Cyprinid family * Chela (organ), a pincer-like organ terminating certain limbs of some arthropods such as crabs * Chela (meteorite), a meteorite fall of 1988 in Tanz ...

), a fellow artist to take care of Belen because her mother does not give her any attention. Then tragedy occurs because Ana Luisa comes to believe that her husband wants to stick his lover in their home and she reacts violently throwing nanny Merce down the stairs by accident. On her deathbed, Merce tells Ana Luisa the truth about her parentage. After this shocking revelation, Ana Luisa accepts her heritage and cries for her mother after she dies. She also decides to start loving her daughter and gives her a hug.

Cast

as José Carlos Ruiz *

as Ana Luisa de la Fuente *

as Mercé * Titina Romay as Belén * Chela Castro as Isabel * Nicolás Rodríguez as Padre Francisco * Antonio R. Frausto as Laureano *

María Douglas María Douglas (June 22, 1922 – December 17, 1973) was a Mexican stage and film actress.Taibo p.155 Selected filmography * '' Cinco fueron escogidos'' (1943) * ''The White Monk'' (1945) * '' Angelitos negros'' (1948) * ''La casa chica'' (1950) ...

as Malú del Rey * Juan Pulido as Ildefonso Sánchez * Chimi Monterrey as Fernando Valdés * Ramiro Gamboa

Music

Pedro Infante sings the title song ''Angelitos Negros''.

Andrés Eloy Blanco Andrés Eloy Blanco Meaño (6 August 1896 – 21 May 1955) was a noted Venezuelan poet and politician. He was a member of the ''Generación del 28'', and one of the founders of Acción Democrática (AD). He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of ...

's poem ''Píntame Angelitos Negros'' was set to music by the Mexican composer

Manuel Álvarez Maciste Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...

. It's a protest against racism. The instrumental music was written by Nacho García and

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* Juanita Heredia. ''Transnational Latina Narratives in the Twenty-first Century''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

External links

*
''Angelitos negros''
at

Variety Distribution Variety Distribution is an Italian-based film distribution company. It distributes Italian films worldwide, produced from the 1930s onward. History Variety Distribution (formerly Variety Film and Variety Communications) has been in the film ...