[eltdf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”” background_color=””]W[/eltdf_dropcaps]hat a better way to start the twentieth edition of the Guanajuato International Film Festival than with the monumental presence of a female insignia, a portent in the absolute extension of character. Isela Vega personifies all the radiance that the title Movie Star announces.
Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, she has made a career on the stage, on film and on television, always guided by an immanent presence. A woman who writes, sings and screams, on the streets if necessary; an artist with a strong voice and subtle gestures to embody dignity and precision at the root of every character.
Isela Vega’s career is one of solid art, with her humanity always at the forefront and her nudity as her first banner of freedom. At 77 years of age and a near-60-year artistic career, she’s participated in nearly 120 production on television and film, maintaining a firm temper as an idealistic woman who doesn’t let herself be overwhelmed by other people’s morals. In 1960 she made her film acting debut in Verano violento (Alfonso Corona Blake, 1960) and her theater debut with Una viuda y sus millones, that same year. From then her participations in Mexican theater, film and telelvision became consistent and her name soon earned top billing.
Her acting career launched with her first leading role in Don Juan 67 (Carlos Velo, 1967), in which she starred with Mauricio Garcés, and in the 70’s alone, decade in which she also gained notoriety with her nudes, she appeared in 28 films. Her performance in the film Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Sam Peckinpah, 1974) she made her foreign feature debut and consecrated her name as an actress; she also collaborated as a singer and songwriter on Bennie’s Song, one of the themes for the film of the same name. A few years later she worked with Arturo Ripstein in La viuda negra (1977) and won the Silver Ariel for Best Actress.
Isela Vega’s creativity knows no bounds. In 1986 she had her writing, directing and producing debut with the mystery film Las amantes del señor de la noche, in which she starred alongside Irma Serrano, Lilia Prado and Emilio “El Indio” Fernández. With time this actress became a crucial artist for the new Mexican cinema of the 1990’s. Her participation in several television series and soap operas keep her powerful presence relevant in national and international screens. Isela Vega radiates with the most nourished of life experiences in the artistic medium.
The Guanajuato International Film Festival is honored to pay a well-deserved tribute to the First Actress Isela Vega, the Grande Dame of Mexican cinema, an essential character of the seventh art capable of deconstructing the trace between morality and art.
