Ofelia D'Acosta née Martinez (9 February 1922 in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a Guaynabo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, east of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayam� ...

) was a Cuban–Puerto Rican actress. She was known in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

for her participation in theater, film and

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(a type of soap opera popular on Latin American television markets).

Early life

Born Ofelia Martinez in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. she met Cuban actor Tino Acosta, five years her junior, when they were both in their 20s. The pair married in 1949. D'Acosta was 27 and her husband was 22 at that time. D'Acosta adopted her husband's last name, adding a D' in front of it, to imply she was his (because in Spanish language, the letter D sounds like the Spanish word de when pronounced, and "de" in Spanish means "from" or "of").

Career

D'Acosta debuted as a

radionovela A radionovela (also known as serial radiofónico or simply serial) is a type of radio drama first broadcast in Latin America in the early 20th century. Radionovelas are typically melodramas or soap operas which are issued in chapters, in contrast t ...

actress in her native Cuba in 1949. She acted on shows carried by "Cadena Azul" and by "CMQ" radio stations. Her first major break came as a leading actress in a radionovela named "Cuando La Hija es Una Rival" ("When Your Daughter is Your Enemy"), which was played on the "Radio Progreso" station in Cuba. She also participated in a radio series named "Heroes de la Justicia" ("Justice Heroes"). Her costars at the time in those series included Tino Acosta as well as Raymond Oliva and Guillermo de Cun. Soon afterwards, she and Tino Acosta got married. As a consequence of the late 1950s

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

Ernesto Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

and others, D'Acosta and her husband Tino decided to move to Puerto Rico, where at first things were hard for the couple; D'Acosta had to become a saleswoman to make ends meet, walking around neighborhoods, selling

Romper Room ''Romper Room'' is an American children's television series that was franchised and syndicated from 1953 to 1994. The program targeted preschoolers (children five years of age or younger), and was created and produced by Bert Claster and his ...

toys from house to house to make ends meet. Due in part to the fact that her husband Tino initially found success as an actor in Puerto Rico during the mid-1960s, D'Acosta finally began acting in their new country. One of the first telenovelas where she acted at in Puerto Rico was Telemundo Canal 2's "Esclavos del Rencor" ("Slaves of Resentment") in which she was the leading actress. Later on, D'Acosta participated in a Puerto Rican telenovela version of "Cuando La Hija es Una Rival", which this time was led by the German-Puerto Rican actor

Axel Anderson Axel Anderson (December 11, 1929 – December 16, 2012) was a German actor who was very popular in his adopted homeland of Puerto Rico. Biography Early life Anderson was born Axel Levy to a Jewish family in Berlin, Weimar Republic, Germany. In ...

and by Puerto Rican actress Camille Carrion; through the late 1970s and the 1980s, she became a prolific television actress in Puerto Rico, also being cast for roles in, among others, "La Sombra de Belinda" ("Belinda's Shadow"), the classic " Coralito" alongside

Salvador Pineda Salvador Pineda Popoca (born June 16, 1952, in Huetamo, Michoacan, Mexico) is a Mexican actor, who has participated in over 20 Mexican telenovelas and Mexican movies, as well as two Hollywood low budget movies. Born to Mexican politician Salvado ...

and

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(as "Ceferina") "Preciosa" (as "Flor"), "Milly" (in which she played a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

, "Sor Teresa"), the classic " Tanairi", where she acted as villain "Emperatriz" oppose Juan Ferrara and Von Marie Mendez, and "Escandalo" ("Scandal", alongside Andres Garcia, Charityn and Iris Chacon).

Tino Acosta Productions

Tino Acosta formed a production company named Tino Acosta Productions in 1979. The company included a dramatic arts school. In 1986, Tino Acosta died, and Ofelia D'Acosta took over the company's dramatic arts school, renaming it the "Academia de Arte Ofelia D'Acosta". Many well known Puerto Rican actors have studied there, including Luisa de los Rios, Luis Raul, Jerry Seguarra and others.

Theater

D'Acosta was also a prolific theater actress; among other plays, she acted in "Cancion de Septiembre" ("September Song"), "Mujeres" ("Women") and "Recuerdos de Tulipa" ("Memories from the Fire"). She toured across Puerto Rico with "September Song".

Film

D'Acosta acted in 16 Puerto Rican film productions.

Political views

D'Acosta was a fervent believer in statehood (with the United States) for Puerto Rico, but she greatly opposed Puerto Rican governor Luis Fortuno, which caused her to move to Miami, Florida, when she was 86 years old. The Puerto Rican Statehood Party tried to get her involved in politics in

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...

, but she declined. She was also strictly against Fidel and

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in Cuba and was an anti-communist. About her love for Puerto Rico, she declared that she was a "statehood backer and (she desired) for Puerto Rico the same as (she did) for Cuba. I love Puerto Rico and when i die I want to be buried at El Yunque. But I said if Fortuno wins (the 2008 Puerto Rican general election) I would leave, and I am leaving. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing. A man who lies with extreme ease. He is not a statehood supporter. He was away for four years and all he could say afterwards is there is no place for Puerto Rican statehood. Having to leave hurts, but there is no turning back (her decision to)", she once declared to Primera Hora newspaper of Puerto Rico.

Personal life and death

D'Acosta had a daughter, also named Ofelia, who has a learning disability. Her daughter moved with her to Miami. She also had a son, Jorge Acosta. She died early on the morning of 1 October, 2011, after suffering s stroke. She had returned to Puerto Rico and was living at a hospice in Guaynabo.

Reactions to her death

In spite of her views about governor Fortuno, he ordered Puerto Rican flags to be flown at half mast on the day she died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Acosta, Ofelia 1922 births 2011 deaths Cuban actresses Puerto Rican actresses