CDMX, Mexico.-The face par excellence of Mexican cinema was in Havana. The woman who demanded, when it was unthinkable, to earn the same as her male co-stars. The actress who wore pants when she was not yet well seen and broke many gender stereotypes. she showed how strong and determined a woman could be. This is Maria Felix.
“The Lady” She set foot in Cuba in 1950 on an announced visit, for which a crowd of Cubans awaited her, taking over the airport facilities to see her up close. The chronicles of the time narrate a very overwhelming and also disrespectful reception. A male hand took advantage of the disturbance caused by Maria’s presence to touch her buttocks. Which she immediately rejected and exposed her annoyance. That was not all: other fans jumped on top of her to tear a lock of hair or a piece of fabric from her dress.
This is how Ramón Vasconcelos narrated it in his newspaper Alerta: “Things are told that ridicule and depress us. Under the pretext of keeping his souvenirs, there were those who pulled his hair, who tried to rip pieces of his suit off, take an ornament with force; and what is more embarrassing, making her the object of rude explorations…”
Maria had reserved a room in the hHotel Nacional and arrived with the purpose of resting, but her visit would not go unnoticed in a society that revered her. Even to the highest spheres of politics she wanted to rub shoulders with “Maria Bonita”.
According to recounts the journalist Ciro Bianchi, President Prío received her in a private audience and then prepared a cocktail in her honor. Senator Alfredo Hornedo also invited her to a gala dinner at the Casino Deportivo club. But she, María, was not used to doing something for social appearance; and she stood them both up.
Where he did go was the Tropicana cabaret. The chronicles of her time describe her as dazzling, sitting at a table prepared for her.
There those present began to applaud her and asked her to go up on stage and say a few words, but what “la Doña” achieved the most was for her to stand up and greet them briefly.
The climax of his visit was a press conference he gave to local reporters. In that space she talked about his son, his relationship with the icon Agustín Lara and some of his work projects. Although faced with many of the questions that she did not want to answer, she only said: “That does not matter” and she went on to the next one, with the determination that characterized her.
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