Velia Martínez Febles (born June 14, 1920 in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

- May 22, 1993 in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

) was a well-known actress, singer and former nightclub dancer. Martínez was born in Tampa to Cuban parents. In 1941, she settled in Havana, where she became a well-known show business personality. In 1945, while in Mexico, she married the Cuban actor, producer and writer, Ramiro Gómez Kemp (1914-1981).Ramiro Gómez Kemp
/ref> They had two daughters Georgina and Mayra Cristina. She was an accomplished dancer and cabaret star, she performed in Cuba's most prestigious theaters including the Cabaret Montmartre. In 1945, she played the title role in the play ''Filomena Marturano'' in Havana's Thalia Theater, which is considered her pivotal role in her career. In 1958 she acted opposite

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...

in the movie ''The Big Boodle''. She left Cuba in 1960 with her family and lived two years in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

where she appeared in a TV soap opera ''Yo Compro Esa Mujer'' (I'll Buy That Woman). In 1962, she came to Miami and continued performing on stage. In 1965 she appeared in ''My Son Is Not What He Appears (Mi Hijo No Es Lo Que Parece)'', at the Martí Theater. In 1966, she appeared in the movie, ''The Devil's Sister'' as Carmen Alvarado. In 1977, she reached the pinnacle of popularity as the grandmother Adela in the PBS series ''

¿Qué Pasa, USA? ''¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' ( es, What's Happening, USA?) is America's first bilingual situation comedy, and the first sitcom to be produced for PBS. It was produced and taped from 1977 to 1980 in front of a live studio audience at PBS member station WP ...

''. Her last great performance on stage was in 1989 in

Luis Santeiro Luis Santeiro is a Cuban-American television screenwriter and playwright born in Havana, Cuba, in 1947. Biography Santeiro left the island with his family at the age of twelve for Miami, Florida. He later obtained a degree in sociology from Vi ...

's play, ''Mixed Blessings'' at the

Coconut Grove Playhouse The Coconut Grove Playhouse was a theatre in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. The building was originally constructed as a movie theater called the Player's State Theater. It opened on January 3, 1927, as a part of ...

and her last television role was of Elena, a hair salon owner in the

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...

series ''

Corte Tropical Corte may refer to: * Corte, a commune in Corsica, France ** Arrondissement of Corte, a district in Corsica, France * USC Corte, a French football team People with the surname * Frank Corte, Jr., a U.S. businessman and politician See also * ...

'' in 1992.

Selected filmography

* ''

Madman and Vagabond ''Madman and Vagabond'' (Spanish:''Loco y vagabundo'') is a 1946 Mexican comedy film directed by Carlos Orellana and starring Manuel Medel, Meche Barba and Manuel Arvide.Agrasánchez p.35 The film's sets were designed by Carlos Toussaint. Cas ...

'' (1946)

References

* ''The Miami Herald'' - May 25, 1993 - Velia Martínez, Grandmother on ¿Qué Pasa, USA?
Guije article

External links

¿Que Pasa USA? website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Velia American expatriates in Cuba American film actresses 1920 births 1993 deaths American people of Spanish descent 20th-century American actresses