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 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, 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'' with María Félix, ''Romeo y Julieta'', with

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, and ''Así se quiere en Jalisco'', with Jorge Negrete. 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

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's book '' The Pearl''. The film was directed by Emilio Fernández and her co-star was Pedro Armendáriz. Marqués was directed again by Fernández in ''Cuando levanta la niebla'' (1952), '' Reportaje'' (1953) and ''Pueblito'' (1961). She worked in Hollywood in '' Across the Wide Missouri'' (1951) opposite

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, and in '' Ambush at Tomahawk Gap'' (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 (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

s. Her last work as an actress was in the film ''El testamento'' (1981). Marqués was married to the actor Miguel Torruco. Marqués died of heart failure in Mexico City on November 11, 2008, with her children Marisela and Miguel Torruco Marqués at her side.

Filmography (selected)

* ''Dos corazones y un tango'' (1942) * '' La razón de la culpa'' (1942) * ''Así se quiere en Jalisco'' (1943) * '' The Rebel'' (1943) * '' Doña Bárbara'' (1943) * '' Romeo y Julieta'' (1943) * '' The Two Orphans'' (1944) * ''Me he de comer esa tuna'' (1945) * '' Caribbean Rose'' (1946) * '' La perla'' (1947) * '' The Newlywed Wants a House'' (1948) * '' Black Angustias'' (1950) * '' The Dangerous Age'' (1950) * ''Gemma'' (1950) * ''Yo Quiero Ser Mala'' (1950) * '' Across the Wide Missouri'' (1951) * '' When the Fog Lifts'' (1952) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1953) * '' Ambush at Tomahawk Gap'' (1953) * '' Reportaje'' (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 Mexican film actresses Mexican stage actresses Mexican television actresses Ranchera singers Actresses from Mexico City 20th-century Mexican women singers Golden Age of Mexican cinema