Andrea Palma | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Palma inTarzan and the Mermaids (1948) | |
| Born | Guadalupe Bracho Pérez-Gavilán (1903-04-16)16 April 1903 Durango, Mexico |
| Died | 11 November 1987(1987-11-11) (aged 84) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Resting place | Panteón Español, Mexico City |
| Years active | 1930–1977 |
| Spouse | Enrique Díaz |
| Relatives | Julio Bracho (brother) Ramon Novarro (cousin) Dolores del Río (cousin) |
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Guadalupe Bracho Pérez-Gavilán (Spanish pronunciation:[ɡwaðaˈlupeˈβɾatʃoˈpeɾesɣaβilan]; 16 April 1903 – 11 November 1987), known professionally asAndrea Palma, was a Mexican actress. She was considered the first major female star of theMexican cinema after her role in the Mexican filmLa Mujer del Puerto (1934).
Guadalupe Bracho Pérez-Gavilán was one of eleven children of Julio Bracho Zuloaga, born in Durango, a wealthy land and textile factory owner who lost all his possessions during theMexican Revolution. One of her brothers was the film directorJulio Bracho. Her cousins were theHollywood actorsRamon Novarro andDolores del Río.[1]
Bracho moved his family toMexico City, where Andrea became interested in theater during her school years, and later in fashion and hat design. She entered the hat business in the early 1920s and opened her own shop, calledCasa Andrea (from where she took her first name as an actress, adding the last name of one of her clients, the elegant Mrs. Palma.) Known in the theater world, she had her first opportunity replacing her friend, the Mexican actressIsabela Corona when the actress gave birth to a child.[citation needed]
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She closed the shop and remained with the theater company and traveled to the United States, where she stayed until the early 1930s, helped by a young and strugglingCecil Kellaway, having small roles in the films of her cousins Dolores del Río and Ramón Novarro and as hat and make-up consultant forMarlene Dietrich, when the German actress arrived in Hollywood.[2] When she was called from Mexico and offered the role of Rosario in the filmLa Mujer del Puerto, it was Dietrich's style that inspired her in creating her character.[citation needed]
La Mujer del puerto (1934) became an instant success and Palma became a superstar, practically overnight. In the succeeding years, she was much in demand: her next movie was completely opposite to Rosario, playing the famous 17th-century poet, playwright and nunSor Juana Inés de la Cruz; she returned to Hollywood to make two "Latin films", took a four-year break doing theater and in 1943 she was directed by her brotherJulio Bracho in the classic melodramaDistinto amanecer (1943). She played Julieta, a frustrated wife during the day and a prostitute during the night. She appeared in other movies likeEl Rosario (1943),Los buitres sobre el tejado (1945) andLa casa de la zorra (1945). In 1948, Palma participated in a Tarzan vehicle,Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) starringJohnny Weissmuller. She travelled to Spain to perform in a play and during rehearsals she met actor Enrique Díaz, whom she married. When she returned to Mexico, she was no longer considered a young leading lady and became specialized in character roles.[citation needed]
In the 1950s she was in two classicRumberas film productions and huge commercial successes starring Cuban superstarNinón Sevilla and directed by Alberto Gout, playing a mean brothel owner inAventurera (1950) and a suffering wife inSensualidad (1951). She filmed other movies likeMujeres sin mañana (1950), withCarmen Montejo andLeticia Palma, andEugenia Grandet (1952) withMarga López. In 1955 she worked withLuis Buñuel inEnsayo de un crimen (1955). In the late 1950s, she appears next toLibertad Lamarque inLa mujer que no tuvo infancia (1956);María Félix inMiercoles de ceniza, and Dolores del Río inWhere Are Our Children Going? (1958), among others.[citation needed]
Although she worked in the Mexican film industry until the 1970s, Andrea Palma concentrated in television and theater since the late 1950s, including her weekly appearance as hostess of the popular seriesLa novela semanal, based on literature classics, until her retirement in 1979 due to an illness. Her last role was with her niece and goddaughterDiana Bracho in the seriesÁngel Guerra (1979).[citation needed]
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