Rosaura Revueltas | |
---|---|
Born |
Lerdo, Durango, Mexico |
August 6, 1910
Died | April 30, 1996 Cuernavaca, Mexico |
(aged 85)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1946–1977 |
Rosaura Revueltas Sánchez (August 6, 1910 – April 30, 1996) was a Mexican star of screen and stage, and a dancer, author and teacher.
Revueltas was born in Lerdo, Durango to an artistic family; her brothers included composer Silvestre, writer José, and painter Fermín.
She studied acting and ballet in Mexico City, and made many movies in Mexico. During the filming of her sole United States film, Salt of the Earth, about striking Mexican-American miners in New Mexico, she was arrested and deported back to Mexico. Afterwards, she was put on Hollywood blacklist for her role in the film.
Revueltas' first film was La Deconocida de Arras (1946). In 1951 she played Rosa Suárez, viuda de Ortiz (the widow of Ortiz) in the film Islas Marías, starring Pedro Infante.
In 1953's Sombrero, Revueltas played Tía Magdalena. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called it "a big, broad-brimmed, squashy sort of picture, as massive as the garment for which it is named". The movie for which she is probably best-known is Herbert J. Biberman's Salt of the Earth (1954). The movie was based on the 1951 Empire Zinc strike in Grant County, New Mexico. She played the role of Esperanza Quintero, the wife of a mine worker. Crowther called her "lean and dynamic" in this role. In this film, Esperanza’s husband and fellow miners decide to go on strike, and in turn their wives do the same in order to support their spouses and gain rights of their own.
Revueltas was not Biberman’s first choice for the role of Esperanza. Originally his wife Gale Sondergaard was cast, but Biberman thought the role should be portrayed by a Spanish-speaking actress. Revueltas was one of the few established actors in that film; most the other roles, including that of her husband Ramon, were played by actual miners, some who had taken part in the real life strikes. Juan Chacón, who played Ramon Quintero, was the president of an actual local miners' union.