Libertad Lamarque
Libertad Lamarque (born
November 24 1908 in
Rosario—died
December 12 2000 in
Mexico City) was a popular Argentine-Mexican actress who became famous in
Latin America while working in
Mexican cinema.
She started acting professionally at only seven years old. Her family them moved to
Buenos Aires in
1922, where she worked in theatre, and years later recorded her first
tango LP, with great success. She filmed
Adios, Argentina in
1930, and the first Argentine film with sound
¡Tango! in
1933.
Her fame crossed the boundaries of Argentina and expanded throughout Latin America to be known as
La Novia de América ("The Bride of the Americas"). At her death in 2000, she had a list of 65 films (21 filmed in Argentina, 45 in Mexico and one in
Spain), six soap operas, over 800 songs recorded and innumeral theatre presentations.
Legend holds that Lamarque left Argentina because she had been blacklisted by Argentine first lady
Eva Peron. Marysa Navarro and Nicholas Frasier, authors of
Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron, however, say that this is not likely. Rather, say the authors, Lamarque moved to Mexico because the Mexican cinema was in better condition during the 1940s and '50s than was the Argentine cinema. The authors also point out that Lamarque traveled freely from Argentina to Mexico during the lifetime of Eva Peron and beyond, which does not support the blacklisting legend.
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Libertad at TodoTango
