Adela Sequeyro Haro (March 11, 1901 – December 24, 1992) was a Mexican journalist, actress, filmmaker and screenwriter. She was a pioneer of Mexican cinema both during the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

and the

talkies A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

Early life

Adela Sequeyro was born March 11, 1901, in

Veracruz, Mexico Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in east ...

to a liberal and well-established family headed by Frederico Sequeyro-Arrola and Virginia Haro y Gutiérrez-Zamora. Financially weakened by the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

of the 1910s, the family was constrained to move to

Cuautitlán Cuautitlán (, Otomi: ), is a municipality in the State of Mexico, just north of the northern tip of the Federal District (Distrito Federal) within the Greater Mexico City urban area. The city of Cuautitlán is the municipal seat and makes up ...

. Sequeyro attended the French-English school of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

before starting an early career in journalism.

Career

Beginning her journalism career in 1923, Sequeyro started writing about cinema for ''El Democráta.'' She began acting the same year under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

''Perlita'' and in 1933, she played an important part in

Fernando de Fuentes Fernando de Fuentes Carrau (December 13, 1894 – July 4, 1958) was a Mexican film director, considered a pioneer in the film industry worldwide. He is perhaps best known for directing the films ''El prisionero trece'', ''El compadre Mendoza'', a ...

's film, ''Él prisonero número trece.'' As her love for cinema grew fonder, Sequeyro became interested in filmmaking. However, as a woman, she was not able to join the industry's labor union. In response, she founded the film production cooperative ''Éxito'' with support of the ''Banco de Credit Popular'' and was able to produce her first film ''Más Allá de la Muerte'' in 1935. In 1937, Sequeyro founded another cooperative with her husband Mario named Carola with which she wrote, direct and produce her second film ''La Mujer de Nadie.'' In 1938, despite financial difficulties, she wrote and directed ''Diabillos del arrabel.'' The film was a failure at the box office and, unable to pay her crew and forsaken by the union, she was compelled to sell the rights to her film. By 1943, Sequeyro was bankrupt and retired from film production. She returned to journalism and work for ''El Universal Gráfico'' her retirement in 1953. During her journalism career, Sequeyro also worked in collaboration with ''

El Universal Ilustrado ''El Universal Ilustrado'' was a Mexican weekly illustrated literary magazine of the 1920s which published works from experimental writers and artists. The magazine was published in Mexico City between 1917 and 1928. History and profile A cultural ...

'', ''El Universal Taurino'' and ''Revista de Revistas.'' She wrote interviews, columns and reviews and would sometimes sign under the pseudonym of ''Perlita'' as reminiscence of old days. During her career, Sequeyro frequented important figures of the national culture scene of the time, including cartoonist Ernesto García Cabral, painter and filmmaker Adolfo Best Maugard and

Arqueles Vela Arqueles Vela (Guatemala/Tapachula 1899 – Mexico City 1977) was a Mexican writer, journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it ...

, poet, writer and founder of the

Stridentism Stridentism (Spanish: Estridentismo) was an artistic and multidisciplinary avant-garde movement, founded in Puebla City by Manuel Maples Arce at the end of 1921 but formally developed in Xalapa where all the founders moved after the University of V ...

movement.

Late years

Sequeyro's contributions to Mexican cinema were largely forgotten until Marcela Fernandez Violante interviewed her in 1986 for the implementation of her book on ''Mexican Women Film Pioneers'' published in 1987. The CIEC/Universidad de Guadalajara also helped sponsored research to retrieve and restore Sequeyro's films. The very end of her life was spent under the care of her only child Sandra. Sequeyro was 91 years old when she died in

on December 24, 1992.Alfaro, Eduardo De La Vega. "ADELA SEQUEYRO, MEXICAN FILM PIONEER." Journal of Film and Video 44.3/4, Latin American Cinema: Gender Perspectives (1992): 31. JSTOR. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Filmography

Bibliography

*Rashkin, J.Elissa. ''Women Filmmakers in Mexico: The County of Which We Dream'', Austin: U of Texas, 2001. *Hershfield, Joanne, and David Maciel, eds. ''Mexico's Cinema: A Century of Film and Filmmakers.'' Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1999. *De La Vega Alfaro, Eduardo and Torres San Martín, Patricia. ''Adela Sequeyro'', Guadalajara, Jalisco, México: Universidad De Guadalajara, 1997.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sequeyro, Adela 1901 births 1992 deaths Actresses from Veracruz Mexican women journalists Mexican women screenwriters Writers from Veracruz Mexican film directors Mexican women film directors 20th-century Mexican screenwriters Women film pioneers