5 Classic Films Starring María Félix, Mexico’s Most Glamorous Movie Star
“Bring it!” These are the words that you can imagine María Félix, a.k.a. la Doña saying to herself just before she stepped onto a film’s soundstage (well ok, maybe, “¡Traigalo!” since it’s rumored la Doña never felt the need to master English.) Félix is known as the fierce first lady of Mexican cinema, and considering Mexican cinema’s dominance during its so-called Época de Oro, the first lady of Latin American Cinema, period. Given her renown, she was also featured in French, Spanish, and Italian films working with top-caliber directors such as Jean Renoir and Luis Buñuel in the films French Can-Can and La Ambiciosa, respectively. Her personal life was no less fantabulous, counting as husbands and lovers such luminaries as composer Agustín Lara, actor Jorge Negrete, and artist Diego Rivera and indulging in such high-rolling hobbies as collecting rare antiques and prize racehorses. For a grand tour of the grande dame, here are our suggested Mexican cinema stops.