Dolores del Río

She played Carlotta Da Silva, a nebulous vamp of Spanish and Brazilian origin. However, in the movie's release, she appeared just five minutes, and the credits called her "Dorothy Del Rio." Carewe reassured her that the little that she appeared in the film, looked extremely good. Despite her brief appearance, Carewe arranged for much publicity for her with the intention to transform her into a star on the order of Rudolph Valentino, a "Female Latin Lover." Hollywood thus first noticed her appeal as a sex siren. Del Río kept struggling against the "Mexicali Rose" image pitched to her by Hollywood executives.

Del Río emerged in Hollywood in a period ruled by blond females stars. The dark-haired stars at the time were Theda Bara and Pola Negri, who were equally exoticized within the film frame or cast as vamps through publicity. While the silent era allowed del Río to maximize the racial ambiguity of her dark air and fair complexion, she was cast in various ethnic roles whose characterizations and movement often carried sexual connotations. Read Less

The first was with Theda Bara in 1917 and it would be reprised by Rita Hayworth in 1953. Walsh thought del Río to be the best interpreter of Carmen for her authentic Latin American origin. To increase her popularity, a portrait was made by the artist Theodore Lukits. Titled A Souvenir of Seville, it depicted the actress in the dress worn for Carmen's presentation to the Spanish Court and also featured her pet monkey. The large painting was displayed in the Carthay Circle Theatre for the 1927 premiere of The Loves of Carmen and was reproduced in magazine and newspaper articles in the US and Mexico.

A succession of movies, lacking artistic merit, were produced to exploit del Río’s fame. Critics noticed, calling The Gateway of the Moon (1928) a “badly-directed, sappy melodrama obviously released only to cash in on the popularity of the star.” At the same time, she filmed No Other Woman. Read Less

Her presence in Hollywood of the thirties is not just limited to the world of cinema but also the circles of its high society. The Gibbons-del Río house in Hollywood was a frequent meeting place for personalities like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Errol Flynn, Lili Damita, Fay Wray, Constance Bennett, Joan Bennett, Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, and many others. A kidney infection (some speculated about a nervous breakdown) kept del Río out of movies for an entire year, causing the dissolution of her United Artists contract.

RKO Pictures facilitated del Río’s comeback, but she suffered a failure with Girl of the Rio (1932), a second version of The Dove. Read Less

About their first meeting, del Río told her cousin, the actress Andrea Palma years later: "His personality was awesome. His manly appeal could not be ignored by any woman. All in he, radiated vitality and security, that seemed dazzling... So much struck me, I surprised myself telling it mentally... If this man asks me to go with him tonight... I'll go." Read Less

The movie was written by Emilio as a present for her birthday. The film allowed Del Río to keep her international prestige. Fernández has said that he wrote an original version of the plot on 13 napkins while sitting in a restaurant. The film was first entitled Xochimilco and the protagonist was named María del Refugio. In addition to the experienced team of producers, the film benefited from Del Río's success as an actress through the American star system. On several occasions, Emilio's "bronco" temperament had surfaced violently and the actress had been about to leave the shooting, angry at what she considered ill treatment of her category. The pleas of his teammates and his high sense of professionalism had convinced her to return, but his relationship with the director had become distant. Read Less

Her last appearance on American television was in Marcus Welby M.D. in the episode: The Legacy in 1970 with Robert Young, James Brolin and Janet Blair. She never appeared on Mexican television. The newspapers claimed that Del Río, Cantinflas and María Félix demanded high salaries.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, del Río collaborated in some international film festivals like Cannes Film Festival (1957), Berlin Film Festival (1962) and San Sebastián Film Festival (1976). Dolores promoted the Mexican Cinema in the Film Festivals "for the good of the country." For her, it was important that Virna Lisi knew Silvia Pinal, Gina Lollobrigida knew Fanny Cano, James Mason knew Fernando Soler and also were known Mexican and foreign producers. She thought that salvation of Mexican Cinema was the co-production.

During the sixties and seventies, Dolores del Río became involved in actor union activities in her native country and was the founder of the group known as "Rosa Mexicano". In 1974, she was the founder of the Estancia Infantil: Dolores del Río of the Asociacion Nacional de Actores (ANDA) in México. Del Río served as president of the Estancia for several years, getting advice from the Montessori education method and system Summerhill. She was accompanied in her work by Mexican actresses such as Carmen Montejo, Maria Elena Marques and Gloria Marín among others. Del Rio’s understanding of child psychology was ahead of her time, “A babies first six years are the most important. Read Less

She realized only a special appearance as the Grandma.

In 1981, del Río was honored by the directors Francis Ford Coppola and George Cukor in the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. This was her last public appearance. Read Less

That day she had been invited to appear on the next Academy Awards Ceremony. She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the Panteón de Dolores cemetery in Mexico City, Mexico.

In 2005, on the centenary of her birth, her remains were moved to the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres in Mexico City. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1630 Vine Street, in recognition of her contributions to the motion picture industry.

She was considered one of the prototypes of the classic woman style of the 1930s: "I think", said Larry Carr (author of More fabulous faces), "that Dolores del Río's appearance at the beginning of the 30's influenced Joan Crawford. In 1930, when Crawford emerged as beauty personified in the entire world, but especially in Hollywood, the women imitated her style of dress and make-up. Gone was the style of heavy pancake and little heart shaped mouths. In its place the angular face, the sculptured look came into vogue. They produced a new type of beauty, of which Dolores del Río was the precursor. She left her 1920s look, loosened her hairdo, enlarged the shape of her lips and altered her eyebrows to underline her exquisite bone structure. She converted hers into one of the truly Great Faces". Crawford said on a visit to Mexico in 1963: "Dolores became, and remains, as one of the most beautiful stars in the world". "Glamour, said the filmmaker Josef von Sternberg, is the result of chiaroscuro, the play of light on the landscape of the face, the use of the surroundings through the composition, through the shaft of the hair and creating mysterious shadows in the eyes. Read Less