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Nelson Villagra (born 9 August 1937) is a Chilean actor, writer and director of stage and screen. He is recognised as one of the most masterful actors in Chilean cinema and is widely known in Chile for his exceptional portrayal of a mentally retarded murderer in
Miguel Littín Miguel Ernesto Littin Cucumides (born 9 August 1942) is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born to a Palestinian people, Palestinian father, Hernán Littin and a Greeks, Greek mother, Cristina Cucumides. C ...
's ''
El Chacal de Nahueltoro ''Jackal of Nahueltoro'' ( es, El Chacal de Nahueltoro) is a 1969 Chilean drama film directed by Miguel Littín, based on the true story of Jorge Valenzuela Torres, a poor farmer who, during a drunken rampage in 1960, murdered his partner and fi ...
'' (1969). He also collaborated with Raúl Ruiz on '' Tres tristes tigres'' (1968), '' La colonia penal'' (1970) and '' Nadie dijo nada'' (1971). In 1973, Villagra was exiled from Chile as a result of the
military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
which led to the
Pinochet dictatorship Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
. After a time in Europe, he went on to
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and worked with some of the key Latin American directors of the period, such as
Humberto Solás Humberto Solás (4 December 1941 – 18 September 2008) was a Cuban film director, credited with directing the film ''Lucía'' (1968), which explored the lives of Cuban women during different periods in Cuban history. His cinematic style bor ...
('' Cantata de Chile'') and
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (; December 11, 1928 – April 16, 1996) was a Cuban film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed more than twenty features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolu ...
, winning the Best Actor award for his role as 'El Conde' in Gutiérrez Alea's ''
The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...
'' at the 1978 Biarritz Film Festival. In 1979, he played a military torturer in Sergio Castilla's film ''Prisioneros desaparecidos'', a role for which he won the Best Actor award at the San Sebastián Film Festival.


Early life and film career

Nelson Garrido Villagra was born in
Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new à ...
in
southern Chile Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally cities ...
on 9 August 1937. His artistic activities began in 1950, at the age of 13, when he was enrolled at the School of Artistic Culture of Chillán (Escuela de Cultura Artística de Chillán) under the tuition of Professor Carlos Cortés with whom he worked on Radiodifusión Cultural de Chillán. Later in 1950, Villagra joined Chillán Cultural Broadcasting, a cultural group, who later founded the Teatro Experimental de Chillán, Chillán Choir, and the Institute of Cultural Extension of the city. This group was led by Ciro Vargas Mellado, with help from the capital -
Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
- Enrique Gajardo Velasquez. Both Mellado and Velasquez had a large influence on Villagra's theatrical and cultural training. In 1955 he was admitted to the School of Theatre at the
University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.
. By this time, Villagra already had a solid theatrical background that made him stand out among the students of the School. As a freshman at the University, by chance, he was asked to replace a professional actor in a production of the University's Experimental Theatre (ITUCH) a few days before it opened. It was only a small part, but critics at the premiere regarded him as "a hope for the Chilean theatre." Upon graduation from the School of Theatre in 1958, he was hired by the Teatro de la
Universidad de Concepción Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...
(TUC), which had just begun the process of professionalization, having produced many excellent amateur works. The TUC was first led by Gabriel Martinez-Sotomayor, a renowned teacher with profound knowledge of the work of Russian theatre teacher Stanislavsky. The TUC was able to establish a collective attitude to their stage work, without compromising the individual development of its actors. "We created a working group which enabled all we learned," said Villagra. Towards the end of 1959, the TUC reported that Pedro de la Barra - considered by many the father of university theatres in Chile - had left the post of artistic and administrative director at the Institute of Theatre (formerly ITUCH) and was invited to work with their group. It was through these two masters, and Gabriel Martinez-Sotomayor, that consolidated Villagra's place in the TUC for a duration of 7 years. It was during this period that his distinct talent was recognized, a recognition that would later lead him to film acting. In early 1965, Villagra was hired by the Theatre ICTUS of Santiago, and moved to the capital with his family. Among several works that cast Villagra as an actor, the most memorable was undoubtedly his brilliant interpretation of the African-American Randall in the play ''Slow Dance Towards the Gallows'' by
William Hanley William Hanley (October 22, 1931 – May 25, 2012) was an American playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter, born in Lorain, Ohio. Hanley wrote plays for the theatre, radio and television and published three novels in the 1970s. He was related t ...
(''Slow Dance on the Killing Ground''). Villagra subsequently worked in various theatre groups in Santiago - including The council (formed by himself and four companions of the TUC) as well as on television and in seven Chilean films, most famously '' Three Sad Tigers'' (1968) and ''
El Chacal de Nahueltoro ''Jackal of Nahueltoro'' ( es, El Chacal de Nahueltoro) is a 1969 Chilean drama film directed by Miguel Littín, based on the true story of Jorge Valenzuela Torres, a poor farmer who, during a drunken rampage in 1960, murdered his partner and fi ...
'' (1969). On 11 September 1973, his artistic career was interrupted when he was forced into exile in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, owing to his social and political activities in Chile. He also spent periods in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and later in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
from 1975 to 1986, where he actively participated in Cuban cinema. He worked in seven films in Cuba, the most prominent of these being ''The Last Supper'' by Gutiérrez Alea, and '' Black River'' by Manuel Perez - in addition to several co-productions filmed in Cuba, Mexico, France and Venezuela. In 1986, he settled in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec, Canada - where he met and married Begoña Zabala, a
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
actress. He worked in four films for Quebec cinema.


Later life and film career

In 1987, Villagra won the stage contest 'Néo-Québécois Author', sponsored by
Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui The Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui is a theater in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 3900 Saint Denis Street in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. It was founded in 1968, regrouping the product of three semi-professional theater companies: ...
de Montréal. The written work is called "Rara Avis", and was staged by Bernard Martineau at the workshop stage of the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui. In 1988 the ban placed upon entering Chile was lifted for 100 past exiles, a list which included Villagra's name. 1989 he returned to Chile temporarily to participate in a film that failed to materialize in cinemas, but was received by the cinema and acting communities - as well as intellectuals and political personalities - in a bustling social activity at the Café-Restaurant "The Biographer ". Back in Montreal in 1989, Villagra was invited to shoot his first French-language film, taking a leading role in ''Corbeau'', directed by Carlos Ferrand. That same year he was called for another Québécois film, ''Cargo'', directed by François Girard. In 1990, he was cast in ''Artikos'' directed by
Renny Bartlett Renny Bartlett is a Canadian film and television director."Turning the camera on Russia's film pioneer: Sergei Eisenstein was a true revolutionary conflicted by Stalin's tyranny". ''Vancouver Sun'', November 16, 2001. Primarily a documentary filmm ...
and produced for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in London. In 1992, Villagra decided to set up play in Montreal. ''The Lord of Light'' was self-written, and made a theatrical tour to Chile lasting three months and extending to
Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...
, Chiloé. He made a second trip to Chile in 1992 at the invitation of the Viña del Mar Film Festival, where he received a moving tribute. Drawing upon the Chilean reactions to his play ''The Lord of Light'', Villagra decided to submit the piece for translation into French. Also in 1992 he translated the work entitled "Le Seigneur des Lumières", and wins for the second time the Néo-Québécois Authors Contest in Montreal - a prize including dramatized readings of the play by actors from the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui. 1992 also saw Villagra invited to audition in qualification for a bilingual Italian-French role in the film ''The Sarrasine'' directed by Paul Tana. Upon completion, the film was sent to Rome for dubbing in Italian. However, the dubbing director in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
judged that Villagra fully dominated in phonetics and accent required and left his voice in the film, unmodified.


Recent work

In 1997 Villagra returned to Chile with his wife Begoña, also an actor, owing to various work commitments. There they remained for 6 years living in Santiago and receiving the praise of spectators and critics all over. Villagra also worked in Chilean television and film, extending his stay until 2003 inclusively. During 1998, the second year of the couple's residence in Chile, Villagra was invited by the National Theatre to participate in the assembly of a work by
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...
- ''Playing with Fire'' - directed by guest Swedish director
Staffan Valdemar Holm Staffan Valdemar Holm (born 7 October 1958 in Tomelilla, Skåne) is a Swedish-German theatre director. Staffan Valdemar Holm was trained at Statens Teaterskole in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was managing director of the Royal Dramatic Theatre in ...
. After a successful season in Chile, the play went on to the Strindberg Festival in Stockholm. Also in 1998, Villagra wrote a verse play ''The Farce of the Knight and Death'' which toured Ñuble Province, his native land, and acted in all three television movies and three films. The most notable of these works - despite the brevity of Villagra's role - was ''Tendida mirando las estrellas'' by director Andrés Racz. In theatre, Villagra - along with José Ignacio García and wife Begoña Zabala - achieved a particular success with the staging of ''The English Lover'' by
Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film '' Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) e ...
, directed by Jaime Silva. In late 2003, Villagra returned to Montreal with his wife, only to return to Chile a few months later in early 2004 to join the cast of a new TV series with Canal 13. Upon returning to Montreal in late 2004, he declared that in future he will only participate in "artistically worthwhile" projects. Thus, since 2004, despite having received several offers, Villagra has only accepted the film project '' El regalo'', filmed in
Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new à ...
(Chile) in 2008. Villagra currently resides in Montreal, after having worked throughout his life in more than 60 plays, 40 films and TV series. Along with his wife and fellow actors he has begun to develop an art collective which has already produced one short film, ''Transfer'' . At present the collective are preparing several new film projects.


Selected filmography

* '' Three Sad Tigers'' (1968) * ''
Jackal of Nahueltoro ''Jackal of Nahueltoro'' ( es, El Chacal de Nahueltoro) is a 1969 Chilean drama film directed by Miguel Littín, based on the true story of Jorge Valenzuela Torres, a poor farmer who, during a drunken rampage in 1960, murdered his partner and fi ...
'' (1969) * '' The Penal Colony'' (1970) * '' Nadie dijo nada'' (1971) * '' The Promised Land'' (1973) * ''
The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...
'' (1976) * '' Cantata de Chile'' (1976) * '' Río Negro'' (1977) * '' The Recourse to the Method'' (1978) * '' La rosa de los vientos'' (1978) * ''
The Widow of Montiel ''The Widow of Montiel'' ( es, La Viuda de Montiel) is a 1979 Mexican-Colombian drama film directed by Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littín. It is based on a short story of the same name by Gabriel García Marquez. It was entered into the 30th Berli ...
'' (1979) * ''
Cecilia Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...
'' (1982) * '' Amnesia'' (1994) * ''
Tierra del fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...
'' (2000) * '' El regalo'' (2008)


References


External links

*
CineChile.cl
profile o
Nelson Villagra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villagra, Nelson 1937 births Living people Chilean male film actors Chilean film directors Chilean male writers 20th-century Chilean male actors