| Flor Silvestre | |
|---|---|
| Born | Guillermina Jiménez Chagoya August 16, 1929 Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico |
| Occupation | actress and singer |
| Years active | 1943-present (music) 1950-1991 (film) |
| Spouse | Paco Malgesto (?-1959) 3 children Antonio Aguilar (1959–2007; his death) 2 children |
| Children | Marcela Rubiales Dalia Inés Paco Malgesto Jr. Antonio Aguilar Jr. Pepe Aguilar |
Flor Silvestre (born Guillermina Jiménez Chagoya; August 16, 1929) is a Mexican actress and ranchera singer.[1] Regarded as one of the great folkloric leading ladies of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema,[2] Silvestre is perhaps best-known for starring in the films Primero soy mexicano, El bolero de Raquel, and the Academy Award-nominated drama Ánimas Trujano.[3]
During the peak of her career she married her frequent co-star Antonio Aguilar, with whom she procreated the actors and singers Antonio Aguilar Jr. and Pepe Aguilar. Besides being internationally recognized in cinema, Silvestre also became the image of a popular comic book entitled, La Llanera Vengadora.[4] She is the elder sister of singer and actress Enriqueta Jiménez.
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Flor Silvestre was born Guillermina Jiménez Chagoya in Salamanca, Guanajuato[5] on August 16, 1929,[5] to Jesús Jiménez Cervantes and María de Jesús Chagoya Peña.[5] She is the third of seven children: Francisco, Raquel, (herself), José Luis, Enriqueta, María de la Luz, and Arturo.[5][6]
At the age of 13, Silvestre along with her family moved to central Mexico City,[5] where she began her first steps in her musical career singing such ranchera songs as "La canción mexicana", "Yo también soy mexicana" and "El herradero".[5] She became one of the leading artists in the XFO radio station being heard by the audience singing the song "La soldadera", by José de Jesús Morales. After her work in the XFO, Flor won a fan contest in the XEW radio station. She sang in the Teatro Colonial, which was the start for her tour across Central and South America and prior to that chose the stage name of "Flor Silvestre" (wild flower), when the Dolores del Río-starred film Flor silvestre was released in theaters in 1943.[5]
Flor Silvestre immersed herself into the Mexican cinema during its Golden era. Her film debut was in Te besaré en la boca in the year of 1950 and at the age of 21. She was discovered by producer Gregorio Walerstein, who after hearing her sing in "El Patio", cast her in her first starring role alongside Joaquín Pardave and Luis Aguilar in the 1950 comedy-drama film Primero soy mexicano.[5] Like many rising singers, Silvestre made a prolific intervention in cinema, which also boosted her musical career. She also appeared again with Luis Aguilar and Francisco Avitia in the masked-hero film, El tigre enmascarado, the following year.
Silvestre quickly became one of Cinematográfica Jalisco's leading actresses starring with Dagoberto Rodríguez in the masked-hero western film trilogy "El lobo solitario", in the films El lobo solitario, La justicia del lobo, and Vuelve el lobo all released in 1952. Her talent, poise, and beauty maintained her in the film industry sharing credits with many of Mexico's most famous actors.
After a brief disappearance in cinema for at least three years, Flor Silvestre's first color film appearance was alongside Elsa Aguirre in 1956 in La doncella de piedra. The same year, she starred with Antonio Aguilar, who would be her future husband, in the film La huella del chacal, an installment in the Mauricio Rosales film series. Silvestre also starred with Cantinflas and Manola Saavedra in El bolero de Raquel in 1957, a popular film and one of the first where she does not contribute to the soundtrack. In 1959, Flor starred alongside Demetrio González in the Mexiscope production Tan bueno el giro como el colorado, as the lead of an all-star cast in Pueblo en armas and its sequel ¡Viva la soldadera!, and with María Félix in Ismael Rodríguez's revolution-epic La cucaracha.
As the dawn of the 60's came along, Silvestre also starred with popular comic pair Viruta y Capulina in Dos locos en escena in 1960. Silvestre was cast along with Toshirô Mifune and Columba Domínguez in the award-winning film Ánimas Trujano in the year 1962, another film directed by Ismael Rodríguez. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and is probably her best-known role among the American audience. By this decade, she would avert her roles from low-budget westerns and comedies to star in Mexican Revolution-drama films with her husband Antonio Aguilar, such as Caballo prieto azabache in 1968, Lauro Puñales in 1969, and El ojo de vidrio in 1969.
By the 1970s, Flor Silvestre had made a popular cinematic image of a folkloric woman-hero, therefore that became the subject of a comic magazine entitled La Llanera Vengadora,[4] which translates as "the avenging plainswoman", using her likeness and name. The magazine featured a female hero who sought justice, and was dressed in brightly-colored cowboy garb.[4] In this decade, she had some musical guest roles in films, but still maintained her leading lady status in many of Mario Hernández's productions. In the later two decades the films Sabor a sangre and Persecución y muerte de Benjamin Argumedo both in 1980 are among her noted roles, and Triste recuerdo in 1991, which was her last screen appearance, is one of her most memorable roles. She was 62 years old when she decided to leave Mexican cinema, but has appeared frequently in interviews, award festivals, and talk-shows. Flor Silvestre never appeared in any Mexican television series, but her filmography counts up a total of 74 films.
When in her twenties, Silvestre married television presenter Paco Malgesto. They had three children, Marcela Rubiales, Dalia Inés, and Paco Malgesto Jr. Marcela and Dalia became singers and actresses.
Her first film with Antonio Aguilar was La huella del chacal, in 1956. Flor Silvestre confirmed to Don Francisco that during her first films with Aguilar, they had not been romantically involved. It was not until later films that Aguilar began to fall in love with her, and as she quotes "were lovers" because of their films prior to 1959.[7] They married on October 29, 1959, shortly before the release of their film The Soldiers of Pancho Villa. Aguilar and Silvestre also had two children, Antonio Aguilar Jr. (in 1963) and singer Pepe Aguilar (in 1968).