Gloria Mestre Rodríguez (July 28, 1928 – December 9, 2012) was a Mexican dancer, choreographer, and actress in film, stage, and television.

Early years and education

Born in

Villahermosa Villahermosa ( , ; "Beautiful Village") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an important city because o ...

Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...

, Mestre was the daughter of Manuel Mestre Ghigliazza, ''Gobernador constitucional'' of Tabasco, and Carmen Rodriguez. She began her dance studies at Alma Mexicana Academy, later attending the National School of Dance in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. A disciple of

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She ...

and

Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...

, her teachers included Nellie Campobello, Tessy Marcue, and Enrique Vela Quintero.

Career

After graduation, she went to work at the

Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura The Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL, en, National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature), located in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, is the Mexican institution in charge of coordinating artistic and cultural ...

(INBA). At the INBA, she took classes with Gloria Campobello. Her first public appearance with a professional troupe was in the opera ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

''. and she made her debut with the Ballet Masas Siembra in 1945. From 1946 through 1947, with the ''Original Ballet Ruso'', she began a tour in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil and the United States. During her career, she became ''

Prima ballerina assoluta ''Prima ballerina assoluta'' is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a ''prima ballerina assoluta'' is a rare honour, traditionally reserved only for the most exceptional dancers of their generatio ...

'' of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

' San Carlo Opera House; appeared at the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

and at the Olympia; participated in the Ballet Waldeen. She appeared in a steady stream of Mexican films from ''Del Can-Can del Mamo'' in 1951 to ''El Gran Moyecoyo'' in 1983. Mestre was a founder of the Academy of Mexican Dance of the

National Association of Actors The National Association of Actors ( es, Asociación Nacional de Actores, ANDA) is the Mexican actors guild. It is a member of the Bloque Latinoamericano de Actores (BLADA, the Latin American Actors' Block) that includes all of the actors' unions ...

. She also founded the Ballet Chapultepec, and was the principal dancer and choreographer of the INBA's National Opera.

Personal life

Mestre was married to José Silva and had one child, a daughter, Linda Silva Mestre. While recovering from respiratory problems, she died in

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispani ...

in 2012, as a result of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

Selected filmography

* ''

The Lovers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1951) * ''

Oh Darling! Look What You've Done! ''Oh Darling! Look What You've Done To Me!'' (Spanish:''¡Ay, amor, cómo me has puesto!'') is a 1951 Mexican romantic comedy film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and starring Germán Valdés, Rebeca Iturbide and Marcelo Chávez.Monsiváis ...

'' (1951) * ''

The Beautiful Dreamer ''The Beautiful Dreamer'' (Spanish: ''El bello durmiente'') is a 1952 Mexican comedy film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and starring Germán Valdés, Lilia del Valle and Wolf Ruvinskis.Schroeder Rodríguez p.117 The film's sets were desi ...

'' (1952) * ''

Now I Am Rich ''Now I Am Rich'' (Spanish: ''Ahora soy rico'') is a 1952 Mexican drama film directed by Rogelio A. González and starring Pedro Infante, Marga López and Antonio Aguilar.Amador, p. 107. The film's art direction was by Jorge Fernández. Main ...

'' (1952) *'' The Sword of Granada'' (1953) *''

Music and Money ''Music and Money'' (Spanish:''Música y dinero'') is a 1958 Mexican musical comedy film directed by Rafael Portillo and starring Tito Guízar, Luis Aguilar and Pedro Vargas.Agrasánchez p.63 The film's sets were designed by the art director Ma ...

'' (1958) *''

Foxhole in Cairo ''Foxhole in Cairo'' is a 1960 British war film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and based on a novel by Leonard Mosley itself based upon the real-life Operation Salaam. It starred James Robertson Justice, Adrian Hoven, Fenella Fielding and Hen ...

''(1960)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mestre, Gloria 1928 births 2012 deaths People from Villahermosa Mexican people of Italian descent Mexican female dancers Mexican choreographers Mexican ballerinas Mexican film actresses Mexican stage actresses Mexican television actresses 20th-century Mexican actresses