María Victoria Ledesma Cuevas (30 May 1932 – 1 August 2022), known by her stage name Rosa de Castilla (), was a Mexican singer and actress.
retrieved 29 October 2010. She is noted as one of the great folkloric leading ladies of the "

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

" of

Mexican cinema 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 ...

. In the musical field, she has toured the world singing in countries such as

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Career

Acting

De Castilla made her film debut in

Julián Soler Julián Soler (born Julián Díaz Pavia; 17 February 1907 – 5 May 1977) was a Mexican film director, actor, and screenwriter of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In his career spanning half a century, Soler received two Ariel Award nominations ...

's ''Los tres alegres compadres'' (1952), starring

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 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 ...

, and Andrés Soler. As the second female lead after

Flor Silvestre Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla (16 August 1930 – 25 November 2020), known professionally as Flor Silvestre, was a Mexican singer and actress. She was one of the most prominent and successful performers of Mexican and Latin American music, and wa ...

, she co-starred in a western trilogy: ''El lobo solitario'', ''La justicia del lobo'', and ''Vuelve el lobo'' (all in 1952). In 1954, she was nominated for an

Ariel Award for Best Actress in a Minor Role Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

for Rogelio A. González's ''Tal para cual'' (1953). She starred as the female lead in two films in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

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 ...

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 ...

drama ''Tierra de hombres'' (1956), her first color film, and

Jaime Salvador Jaime Salvador Valls (4 November 1901 – 18 October 1976) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director of the Golden era of Mexican cinema. He is known for writing and directing various low-budget comedies, westerns, and rancheras. Select ...

's musical comedy ''¡Aquí están los aguilares!'' (1957). Other notable films she appeared in during the late 1950s are the

Mexiscope {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Mexiscope was a cinematic process used in various Mexican film productions, specifically by Producciones Rosas Priego and Rosas Films, intended to widen the screen format. This process' color w ...

productions of '' Yo... el aventurero'' (1959) and ''Tan bueno el giro como el colorado'' (1959). She played the

ranchera Ranchera () or canción ranchera is a genre of traditional music of Mexico. It dates to before the years of the Mexican Revolution. Rancheras today are played in virtually all regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional folk music ...

singer wife of

Demetrio González Demetrio González (7 October 1927 – 25 January 2015) was a Spanish-born Mexican film actor and singer of ranchera music. Born in Asturias, Spain, he is sometimes called ''El Charro Español''. He has starred in ''ranchera''-music films from 1955 ...

in ''

Dos corazones y un cielo ''Dos corazones y un cielo'' ( en, Two Hearts and One Heaven) is a 1959 Mexican musical-comedy film directed by Rafael Baledón and starring Demetrio González, Eulalio González, and Rosa de Castilla. It also features the last appearance of Carl ...

'' (1959). In the 1960s, she starred in mostly westerns or comedies such as ''

Héroe a la fuerza ''Héroe a la fuerza'' ("Hero in the Force") is a 1964 Mexican film. It stars Eulalio González, Rosa de Castilla y Sara García. It also features Óscar Pulido, David Reynoso, Arturo Castro, Nathanael León, Alejandro Reyna, Ramón Valdés and ...

'' (1964), co-starring

Eulalio González Eulalio "Lalo" González Ramírez (16 December 1921 – 1 September 2003), nicknamed "Piporro", was a Mexican actor, humorist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, announcer, film director, and film producer. Early life González was born in the home ...

and

Sara García Sara García Hidalgo (8 September 1895 – 21 November 1980) was a Mexican actress who made her biggest mark during the "Golden Age of Mexican cinema". During the 1940s and 1950s, she often played the part of a no-nonsense but lovable grandm ...

. By the early 1970s, her career had waned, though she made some comebacks in the late 1990s.

Singing

De Castilla sang

songs in most of her films. In 1956,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

released her album ''The Sounds of Old Mexico'', which also featured

Antonio Aguilar José Pascual Antonio Aguilar Márquez Barraza (17 May 191919 June 2007) was a Mexican singer, actor, songwriter, equestrian, film producer, and screenwriter with a dominating career in music. He recorded over 150 albums, which sold 25 mill ...

Luis Pérez Meza Ignacio Pérez Meza, better known as Luis Pérez Meza (22 May 1917 – 9 June 1981) was a Mexican singer and songwriter of banda and ranchera music who also appeared in several films of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Pérez Meza's holiday hom ...

, and

Rosita Quintana Rosita Quintana (16 July 1925 – 23 August 2021) was an Argentine-Mexican actress, singer and songwriter. She was one of the top leading ladies of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She starred in Luis Buñuel's '' Susana'' (1951) and musical fi ...

. In 1967, she signed with RCA Víctor; her records were "beginning to sell" in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

that same year.

Filmography

Film

* ''Los tres alegres compadres'' (1952) * ''El lobo solitario'' (1952) * ''La justicia del lobo'' (1952) * ''Vuelve el lobo'' (1952) * ''Hot Rumba'' (1952) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1953) * ''

The Unknown Mariachi ''The Unknown Mariachi'' (Spanish:''El mariachi desconocido'') is a 1953 Mexican comedy film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and starring Germán Valdés, Rosa de Castilla and Gloria Mange.Agrasanchez p.26 The film's sets were designed by t ...

'' (1953) * ''Sandunga para tres'' (1954) * ''Contigo a la distancia'' (1954) * ''Las nenas del 7'' (1955) * ''Tierra de hombres'' (1956) * ''

Here Are the Aguilares! ''Here Are the Aguilares!'' ( es, ¡Aquí están los Aguilares!) is a 1957 Mexican musical comedy Western film written and directed by Jaime Salvador, and starring Luis Aguilar, Antonio Aguilar, Rosa de Castilla and Lucy Gallardo. The film's set ...

'' (1957) * ''La virtud desnuda'' (1957) * ''Desnúdate, Lucrecia'' (1958) * ''Tres desgraciados con suerte'' (1958) * ''El jinete solitario en el valle de los buitres'' (1958) * ''Milagros de San Martín de Porres'' (1959) * '' Yo... el aventurero'' (1959) as Gloria Cisneros * ''Tan bueno el giro como el colorado'' (1959) * ''Cada quién su música'' (1959) * ''

'' (1959) as Isabel del Río * ''Dos gallos en palenque'' (1960) * ''Me importa poco'' (1960) * ''Bala de Plata en el pueblo maldito'' (1960) * ''The Hell of Frankenstein'' (1960) as Estela * ''

Northern Courier ''Northern Courier'' (Spanish: ''El correo del norte'') is a 1960 Mexican western film directed by Zacarías Gómez Urquiza.Pitts p.69 Cast * Luis Aguilar * Fernando Almada * José Chávez * Rosa de Castilla as Carmela * Fernando Fernán ...

'' (1960) * ''The Mask of Death'' (1961) * '' ¡Mis abuelitas... no más!'' (1961) * ''La comezón del amor'' (1961) * ''Ay Chabela...!'' (1961) * ''La justicia de los Villalobos'' (1961) * ''Pueblo de odios'' (1962) * ''Aquí están los Villalobos'' (1962) * ''Los forajidos'' (1962) * ''Horizontes de sangre'' (1962) * ''Ahí vienen los Argumedo'' (1962) * ''Vuelven los Argumedo'' (1963) * ''

'' (1964) as Lucha * ''Diablos en el cielo'' (1965) * ''Aquella Rosita Alvírez'' (1965) * ''El tigre de Guanajuato: Leyenda de venganza'' (1965) * ''Pistoleros del oeste'' (1965) * ''El jinete justiciero en retando a la muerte'' (1966) * ''Los amores de Juan Charrasqueado'' (1968) * ''Cuatro hombres marcados'' (1968) * ''El asesino enmascarado'' (1970) * ''El pueblo del terror'' (1970) (uncredited) * ''Campeones del ring'' (1972) * ''Las nenas de quinto patio'' (1995) * ''Reclusorio III'' (1999) * ''La paloma de Marsella'' (1999)

Television

* ''Los hijos de nadie'' (1996) as Amparo Valencia

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:de Castilla, Rosa 1932 births 2022 deaths Mexican film actresses Mexican television actresses Mexican stage actresses Golden Age of Mexican cinema Ranchera singers Actresses from Jalisco Singers from Jalisco 20th-century Mexican actresses 20th-century Mexican women singers Musart Records artists Women in Latin music