María Antonieta Pons

María Antonieta Pons

María Antonieta Pons in the 1940's.
Born María Antonieta Pons
November 6, 1922
La Habana, Cuba
Died August 20, 2004
Mexico City, México
Nationality Mexican
Cuban
Occupation Actress, dancer and singer
Years active 1938–1965
Spouse(s) Juan Orol (1940-1945)
Ramón Pereda (1950-1986)
Benjamín Álvarez (1989-2004)

Maria Antonieta Pons (Havana, Cuba July 11, 1922 – Mexico City August 20, 2004) was a Cuban born Mexican film actress and dancer. She was the first exponent of the called Rumberas film in the 1940s and 1950s, in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Career

María Antonieta Pons began her career as a dancer in Cuba in numerous theaters and night clubs. When she was 16, she met the spanish actor and film director Juan Orol, who becomes her partner in various dance competitions on the island. After becoming in Orol's wife, he decides to release her as a star in Mexico.

María Antonieta Pons debuted in the Cinema of Mexico in the film Siboney (1938). After her debut in this film, Maria Antonieta performed with Orol in international dance tours in the United States, particularly New York and Chicago. Towards the end of 1943, Pons returns to the films invited by the producer Guillermo Calderon to attend in the film Noches de ronda, beside the actors Susana Guizar and Ramon Armengod. In the same year, she performs in the film Konga Roja beside Pedro Armendáriz. Eventually, Pons returns to the Orol's films with Cruel destino. Regardless of her employment with Orol, Pons shooting other films with another directors. Highlights some of these films like ¡Viva mi desgracia! (1944), with Pedro Infante, Balajú (1944), along with Katy Jurado and Rosalinda (1945), with Rafael Baledón, among others. Her last film with Orol was Pasiones tormentosas (1946).

After her break with Orol, Pons was hired by the film producer Gregorio Wallerstein. Under the guidance of this producer, she filmed movies like La reina del trópico (1946), La vida íntima de Marco Antonio y Cleopatra (1946), with the Argentine actor Luis Sandrini and directed by Roberto Gavaldón; La sin ventura (1947); Ángel o demonio (1947) and La bien pagada (1947), among others. In 1949, she performs the second film version of La mujer del puerto (the first version was realized by the actress Andrea Palma in 1934), directed by Tito Davison.

Pons met her second husband, the actor and director Ramón Pereda in 1950, when he contracted her to film El ciclón del Caríbe. Pons and Pereda married soon after. With Pereda as director, Pons makes films like La reina del mambo (1950), María Cristina (1950), La niña popoff (1952) and Casa de perdición (1954), among others. In 1952 she joined the Brazilian market with the film Carnaval Atlántida In the 1950s, were famous her film collaborations with Evangelina Elizondo in ¡Que bravas son las costeñas! (1955); Antonio Espino Clavillazo in Nunca me hagan eso (1956) and with Germán Valdés "Tin Tan" in Teatro del crímen (1956), Las mil y una noches (1957), La Odalísca no. 13 (1957) and Una estrella y dos estrellados (1959). Pons alternating performances in films with performances in major theaters in Mexico City as The Margo (today Blanquita) or the Follies Bergere.

With the decline of the Rumberas films, Pons ends up retiring of the cinema in the early sixties. Her last film work was in Caña brava (1965), alongside the singer Javier Solís.

Retirement

After Caña Brava, Pons took leave of the stardom, and her public appearances were limited. A speculation surrounding of her residence were created: some are located in Los Angeles, others in Miami and even in New York.[1] From the 1970s, she refused to have contact with the public. When her husband Ramon Pereda dies, her isolation was higher. She even refused to receive a Diosa de Plata Award, because according to her: All that can be said of me, was reflected in my films.[2] After the death of Ramon Pereda, she married once again in 1989 with Benjamin Alvarez.

Death

María Antonieta Pons died in Mexico City on August 20 of 2004. Pons had started to have mental lapses, but it was a heart attack which caused her death. At the request of the actress, her death was announced after the funeral services have concluded. In several interviews, her widowed denied that Pons suffering overweight, and assure that the actress kept the statuesque figure that characterized it in her films.[3] She is survived by her only daughter, Maria Guadalupe Pereda, from her second marriage.

Filmography

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ SOMOS (1999), p. 13
  2. ↑ SOMOS (1999), p. 24
  3. ↑ LAS RUMBERAS Parte 1: EL CICLON DEL CARIBE… MARIA ANTONIETA PONS

External links