Luis Mario Cayetano Spota Saavedra Ruotti Castañares (13 July 1925,

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 ...

— 20 January 1985) was a Mexican writer, journalist,

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

official and film director. Although he never finished primary school, Spota became a highly successful author and journalist in his lifetime, appearing frequently on TV and radio. He was also a busy

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

for the

Mexican film industry 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 ...

. He was a close friend of the Mexican president Miguel Aleman Valdes. He was the first President of the World Boxing Council (WBC) (February 1963 - September 1968). He died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in Mexico City.

Bibliography

He wrote more than 30 books, many of which were translated abroad. Several of his books are available in English: * ''Más cornadas da el hambre'' (1949) was translated by

Barnaby Conrad Barnaby Conrad, Jr. (March 27, 1922 – February 12, 2013) was an American artist, author, nightclub proprietor, bullfighter and boxer. Born in San Francisco, California to an affluent family, Conrad was raised in Hillsborough. He spent a year ...

and published by

Penguin UK Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.bull-fighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

, won the Premio Ciudad de México and was turned into the film ''Wounds of Hunger'' (1963) by director

George Sherman George Sherman (July 14, 1908 – March 15, 1991) was an American film director and producer of low-budget Western films. One obituary said his "credits rival in number those of anyone in the entertainment industry." Biography George Sherma ...

and starred

Tony Anthony Darrell W. Anthony (born April 12, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Dirty White Boy. He wrestled primarily for independent promotions in the Southeastern United States. He was most active throughout ...

Luciana Paluzzi Luciana Paluzzi (born 10 June 1937) is an Italian actress. She is perhaps best known for playing SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in the fourth James Bond film, '' Thunderball'', but she had important roles in notable films of the 1960s and 1970s in ...

Eleonora Rossi Drago Eleonora Rossi Drago, born Palmira Omiccioli, (23 September 1925 – 2 December 2007) was an Italian film actress. She was born in Quinto al Mare, Genoa, Italy, and had the leading role in '' Le amiche''. She appeared in ''Un maledetto imbr ...

and

Mark Damon Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and Film producer, producer. He became noted for roles in films like Roger Corman's House of Usher (film), ''House of Usher'', before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western (gen ...

(who also co-produced). * ''La sangre enemiga'' (1959) was also published by Penguin under the title ''The enemy blood'' (translator: Robert Molloy). The movie version was directed by Rogelio A. González. * Other titles include ''El tiempo de la ira'', also translated by Robert Molloy as ''The Time of Wrath'', and ''Casi paraiso'', translated by Ray Morrison and Renate Morrison as ''Almost Paradise''.

Filmography

Other films based on his work include

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 ...

's acclaimed drama ''

En La Palma de Tu Mano ''En la Palma de Tu Mano'' (''In the Palm of Your Hand'') is a 1951 Mexican crime drama film directed by Roberto Gavaldón. The film received eleven nominations and won eight Ariel Awards in 1952, including Best Picture and Best Director. It was ...

'' (''In the Palm of Your Hand''), which won all the top

Ariel Awards 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 ...

of 1951; ''

The Empty Star ''The Empty Star'' ( es, La estrella vacía, links=no) is a 1960 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Gómez Muriel starring María Félix and inspired by the novel of the same name by Luis Spota. Plot Olga Lang (María Félix) is a young girl ...

'' (''La estrella vacía''), directed by

Emilio Gómez Muriel Emilio Gómez Muriel was a prolific Mexican film director, active between the 1930s and the 1970s. He is known for melodramas,, accessed via JSTOR (subscription required) but one of his first films was ''Redes'' (release: 1936), an attempt at s ...

and starring

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 ...

in 1960;

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 ...

's '' The Paper Man'' (''El hombre de papel'', 1963) with a performance by

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 ...

that won him the Golden Gate Award for Best Actor at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in in ...

; and

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 ...

's ''Cadena perpetua'' (1979). Spota also directed several action films and the anthology film ''Amor en cuatro tiempos'' (Love in Four Times, 1955), starring

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 '' ...

Boxing & Lucha Libre

He was president of Mexico

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

Lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

Commission from 1959 until the day of his death in 1985. He was the first President of the World Boxing Council (WBC) from February 1963 until September 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spota, Luis Mexican novelists Boxing people 1925 births 1985 deaths Mexican people of Italian descent