Tenoch Huerta Mejia

José Tenoch Huerta Mejía (; born 29 January 1981) is a Mexican actor. He has appeared in a number of movies in Latin America and Spain, starring in both feature films, short films, and '' Narcos: Mexico'', credited as Tenoch Huerta. He is featured in Mónica Maristain's book, ''30 Actors Made in Mexico''. He played Namor in '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022) set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and was credited as Tenoch Huerta Mejía.

Early life

Huerta was born in Ecatepec de Morelos, State of Mexico, on 29 January 1981. His father, a film buff, enrolled him in an acting course with María Elena Saldaña, and Huerta's later studies were alongside Carlos Torres Torrija and Luis Felipe Tovar.

Huerta is of Indigenous descent, with a Nahua maternal great-grandmother and a Purépecha paternal great-great-grandmother and, like many Mexicans, significant other unknown Indigenous ancestry. He does not self-identify as Indigenous. However, he encourages people to learn more about their Indigenous heritage within and outside the community.

Career

In 2006, he made his acting career debut in the film ''Asi del precipicio'' as a minor character. In 2009, he appeared in Cary Joji Fukunaga's film '' Sin nombre'' in the role of Li'l Mago, leader of the Tapachula faction of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang.

In 2015, he appeared as Carlos Mamami in the biographical disaster survival film '' The 33'', Alejo in ''Camino''. In 2018, he began portraying Rafael Caro Quintero in Netflix's '' Narcos: Mexico''.

In 2021, he appeared as Juan in ''The Forever Purge'', the fifth film of '' The Purge'' franchise, alongside his fellow '' Narcos: Mexico'' costar Alejandro Edda.

In 2022 during a San Diego Comic-Con presentation for the Marvel Studios film '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'', Huerta was revealed to have joined the cast and revealed to be portraying Namor. In Mexico, most reactions were positive. There was also a minority of negative reactions that were characterized as expressions of racism and malinchismo. Huerta himself spoke against racism in the film industry and stated that he was excited to play the character.

Awards

Best Actor at the Short Short Film Festival in Mexico City, for his performance in Alonso Ruizpalacios' '' Café paraíso''. Huerta has also received five nominations for the Ariel Award, winning for Best Actor for his role in ''Días de Gracia'' in 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huerta, Tenoch
Ariel Award winners
Best Actor Ariel Award winners
Living people
Male actors from Mexico City
Mexican male film actors
1981 births
People from Ecatepec de Morelos
Mexican people of indigenous peoples descent
Mexican people of Purépecha descent