María Elena Marqués Rangel (14 December 1926 – 11 November 2008) was a Mexican actress and singer who was a star during the

Golden Age of Mexican cinema The Golden Age of Mexican cinema ( es, Época de Oro del Cine Mexicano) is a period in the history of the Cinema of Mexico between 1930 and 1969 when the Mexican film industry reached high levels of production, quality and economic success of its ...

in the 1940s and 1950s.

Biography

She was born on December 14, 1926 in Mexico City. She was discovered by the film director

Fernando de Fuentes Fernando de Fuentes Carrau (December 12, 1894 – July 4, 1958) was a Mexican film director, considered a pioneer in the film industry worldwide. He is perhaps best known for directing the films '' El prisionero trece'', '' El compadre Mendoza'', ...

, who was her neighbor. Her first film was ''Dos corazones y un tango'' (1942) where she performed with the Argentine tango singer Andrés Falgás. In 1943 she worked in ''

Doña Bárbara ''Doña Bárbara (Lady Bárbara)'' is a novel by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos, first published in 1929. It was described in 1974 as "possibly the most widely known Latin American novel".Shaw, Donald, "Gallegos' Revision of Doña Bárbara ...

'' with

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 and ...

, ''Romeo y Julieta'', with

Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely-accomplished Mexican comedian and is cel ...

, and ''Así se quiere en Jalisco'', with

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 f ...

. She worked again with Negrete in ''Me he de comer esa tuna'' (1945) and ''Tal para cual'' (1951). In her best-known role, Marqués starred in the 1947 film '' La perla'' (''The Pearl''); she played the wife of a fisherman who finds the ill-fated pearl. The film was based on

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

's book '' The Pearl''. The film was directed by

Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 October 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best kn ...

and her co-star was

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 ...

. Marqués was directed again by Fernández in ''Cuando levanta la niebla'' (1952), ''

Reportaje ''Reportaje'' ("Report News") is a 1953 Mexican film. The film brought together an extraordinary ensemble cast of the most important stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and was held for charitable purposes for the A.N.D.A ''(Asociación N ...

'' (1953) and ''Pueblito'' (1961). She worked in Hollywood in '' Across the Wide Missouri'' (1951) opposite

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

, and in ''

Ambush at Tomahawk Gap ''Ambush at Tomahawk Gap'' is a 1953 American Western film directed by Fred F. Sears and produced by Wallace MacDonald. It stars John Hodiak, John Derek, David Brian, and María Elena Marqués. Plot Four outlaws have just been released from Y ...

'' (1953), with John Hodiak. As a singer, she recorded songs such as "Cartas marcadas", "Échame a mí la culpa", "El aguacero", "Grítenme piedras del campo", "La cigarra", "La noche de mi mal", "La Panchita", "Tres consejos" and "Tú, sólo tú", with the Mariachi Santana and the Trío Tamaulipeco. Marqués worked on 15 radio soap operas and 30 other radio programs for XEW, acted in 20 TV theater productions and 10

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

s. Her last work as an actress was in the film ''El testamento'' (1981). Marqués was married to the actor

Miguel Torruco Miguel Torruco (1920–1956) was a Mexican film actor.Goble p.8 He was one of the stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema until his sudden death at the age of thirty six after falling off a horse. He was married to the actress María Elena Marq ...

. Marqués died of heart failure in Mexico City on November 11, 2008 with her children Marisela and

Miguel Torruco Marqués Miguel Torruco Marqués (September 19, 1951 in Mexico City) is an entrepreneur, academic and Mexican public official. He was the Secretary of Tourism of the Federal District from 2012 to 2017. In 2017, he became a Tourism Adviser of Andrés M ...

at her side.

Filmography (selected)

María Elena Marqués in Across the Wide Missouri

* ''Dos corazones y un tango'' (1942) * ''

La razón de la culpa ''La razón de la culpa'' (English: "The reason for the blame") is a 1943 Mexican film directed by Juan José Ortega who also directed Corazón salvaje. The film stars Blanca de Castejón, Andrés Soler Andrés Soler (born Andrés Díaz Pa ...

'' (1942) * ''Así se quiere en Jalisco'' (1943) * ''

'' (1943) * '' Romeo y Julieta'' (1943) * '' The Two Orphans'' (1944) * ''Me he de comer esa tuna'' (1945) * ''Rosa del Caribe'' (1945) * '' La perla'' (1947) * ''La negra Angustias'' (1950) * ''Gemma'' (1950) * ''Yo Quiero Ser Mala'' (1950) * '' Across the Wide Missouri'' (1951) * ''Cuando levanta la niebla'' (1952) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1953) * ''

'' (1953) * ''

'' (1953) * ''Historia de un abrigo de mink'' (1955) * ''Así era Pancho Villa'' (1956) * '' A Media Luz los Tres'' (1958) * ''Pueblito'' (1961) * ''¿Que haremos con papá?'' (1968) * ''El Jardín de los Cerezos'' (1978) * ''El Testamento'' (1981)

Television

* '' Amor y orgullo'' (1967)

References

Bibliography

External links

*
María Elena Marqués
at Cine Mexicano {{DEFAULTSORT:Marques, Maria Elena 1926 births 2008 deaths Golden Age of Mexican cinema Mexican film actresses Mexican stage actresses Mexican television actresses Ranchera singers Actresses from Mexico City 20th-century Mexican women singers