| Ninón Sevilla | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emelia Pérez Castellanos November 10, 1921 La Habana, Cuba |
| Occupation | film actress, dancer |
| Years active | 1946–present |
Ninón Sevilla (born November 10, 1921) is a Mexican and Cuban film actress and dancer who was active during the Golden age of Mexican cinema. She was considered one of the greatest Cuban stars and the queen of the "rumberas film".
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Ninón Sevilla was born in Cuba and raised by an aunt in the populous Centro Habana sector. She was graced with feline features, wonderful legs and exceptional vitality. She successfully danced her way through Havana night clubs and cabarets, and arrived in Mexico in 1945, where she made her film debut. Although she had already imposed her eccentric attires and hairdos, it was her association with filmmaker Alberto Gout that determined the creation of her erotic film persona. She rapidly became the icon of the rumbera, an archetype of the Mexican film musicals, a "bad girl" who is dignified by dancing. Ninon was embraced by the best of the Mexican art community and was frequently associated with the great Mexican Artists reflecting the convergence of the characters of art and cinema. Ninón became an erotic myth and a superstar, working with the best talent in the film industry (Emilio Fernández, Pedro Armendáriz, Gabriel Figueroa, Agustín Lara, José Revueltas), in the biggest sound stages at Churubusco, choreographing her own complicated numbers, often in costumes by Gerardo Velazques Delgado a well known personailty within cinema and art. Ninon's fame reached such non-Spanish speaking markets, as Brazil and France. She was also among the first to introduce traces of the santería rites in her dances, and to acknowledge the presence of African elements in the Caribbean cultures in her films' stories. With the decline of Mexican cinema in the 50s, Ninón Sevilla retired, but she made a successful comeback in 1980, with "Noche de carnaval", winning the top Mexican award for an actress for the first time in her career.
She is considered as one of the greatest Rumba dancers of the Mexican cinema along with superstars Meche Barba, Rosa Carmina, Amalia Aguilar and Maria Antonieta Pons, frequently referred to as the Tropical Queens.
Her most popular films are Aventurera (1950), Perdída (1950), Víctimas del Pecado (1951), Sensualidad (1951) and many more.
She continues her career until today, in the Mexican telenovelas.
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