María Victoria Ledesma Cuevas (30 May 1932 – 1 August 2022), known by her stage name Rosa de Castilla (), was a Mexican singer and actress. She is noted as one of the great folkloric leading ladies of the "

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

" of

Mexican cinema The cinema of Mexico dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ...

. In the musical field, she has toured the world singing in countries such as

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Career

Acting

De Castilla made her film debut in

Julián Soler Julián Díaz Pavia (17 February 1907 – 5 May 1977), better known by the stage name Julián Soler, was a Mexican film director, actor, and screenwriter of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In his career spanning half a century, Soler receive ...

's ''Los tres alegres compadres'' (1952), starring

Jorge Negrete Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno (; 30 November 1911 – 5 December 1953) was a Mexican singer and actor. He specialized in the musical genre of ranchera. His posthumous album "Fiesta Mexicana Volumen II" has been ranked by critics at No. 163 on t ...

Pedro Armendáriz Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings (May 9, 1912 – June 18, 1963) was a Mexican-American film actor who made films in both Mexico and the United States. With Dolores del Río and María Félix, he was one of the best-known Latin American mo ...

, and

Andrés Soler Andrés Díaz Pavia (18 November 1898 – 26 July 1969), better known by the stage name Andrés Soler, was a Mexican actor. He was considered one of the greatest figures of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Soler appeared in about two hundred fil ...

. As the second female lead after

Flor Silvestre Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla (16 August 1930 – 25 November 2020) known professionally as Flor Silvestre, was a Mexican singer and actress. She was one of the most prominent and successful performers of Mexican and Latin American music, and w ...

, she co-starred in a western trilogy: ''El lobo solitario'', ''La justicia del lobo'', and ''Vuelve el lobo'' (all in 1952). In 1954, she was nominated for an Ariel Award for Best Actress in a Minor Role for Rogelio A. González's ''Tal para cual'' (1953). She starred as the female lead in two films in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was o ...

Ismael Rodríguez Ismael Rodríguez (October 19, 1917 – August 7, 2004) was a Mexican film director. Rodríguez rose to fame due to the movies he directed starring Pedro Infante, and directed many major stars, including Dolores del Río, María Félix, Tos ...

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 ...

drama ''Tierra de hombres'' (1956), her first color film, and

Jaime Salvador Jaime Salvador Valls (4 November 1901 – 18 October 1976) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director of the Golden era of Mexican cinema. He is known for writing and directing various low-budget comedies, westerns, and rancheras. Sel ...

's musical comedy ''¡Aquí están los aguilares!'' (1957). Other notable films she appeared in during the late 1950s are the Mexiscope productions of '' Yo... el aventurero'' (1959) and ''Tan bueno el giro como el colorado'' (1959). She played the

ranchera Ranchera () or canción ranchera is a genre of traditional music of Mexico. It dates to before the years of the Mexican Revolution. Rancheras today are played in the vast majority of regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional fo ...

singer wife of

Demetrio González Demetrio González (7 October 1927 – 25 January 2015) was a Spain, Spanish-born Mexico, Mexican film actor and singer of ranchera music. Born in Asturias, Spain, he is sometimes called ''El Charro Español''. He has starred in ''ranchera''-music ...

in '' Dos corazones y un cielo'' (1959). In the 1960s, she starred in mostly westerns or comedies such as ''

Héroe a la fuerza Héroe may refer to one of the following songs: * "Héroe", the Spanish version of Mariah Carey's song "Hero (Mariah Carey song), Hero" * "Héroe", the Spanish version of Enrique Iglesias's song "Hero (Enrique Iglesias song), Hero" See also

...

'' (1964), co-starring

Eulalio González Eulalio "Lalo" González Ramírez (16 December 1921 – 1 September 2003), nicknamed "Piporro", was a Mexican actor, humorist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, announcer, film director, and film producer. Early life González was born in the home ...

and

Sara García Sara García Hidalgo (8 September 1895 – 21 November 1980) was a Mexican Actor, actress who made her biggest mark during the "Golden Age of Mexican cinema". During the 1940s and 1950s, she often played the part of a no-nonsense but lovable ...

. By the early 1970s, her career had waned, though she made some comebacks in the late 1990s.

Singing

De Castilla sang

songs in most of her films. In 1956,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

released her album ''The Sounds of Old Mexico'', which also featured

Antonio Aguilar José Pascual Antonio Aguilar Márquez Barraza (17 May 191919 June 2007), known as Antonio Aguilar, was a Mexican singer and actor. He recorded over 150 albums, which sold 25 million copies, and acted in more than 120 films. He was given t ...

Luis Pérez Meza Ignacio Pérez Meza (22 May 1917 – 9 June 1981), better known as Luis Pérez Meza or El Trovador del Campo, was a Mexican singer, boxer and actor. He was a singer of banda and ranchera music, he also appeared in several films of the Golden Age ...

, and

Rosita Quintana Rosita Quintana (16 July 1925 – 23 August 2021) was an Argentine-Mexican actress, singer and songwriter. She was one of the top leading ladies of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She starred in Luis Buñuel's '' Susana'' (1951) and musical fi ...

. In 1967, she signed with RCA Víctor; her records were "beginning to sell" in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

that same year.

Filmography

Film

* ''

The Three Happy Compadres ''The Three Happy Compadres'' (Spanish: ''Los Tres Alegres Compadres'') is a 1952 Mexican western musical comedy film directed by Julián Soler and starring Jorge Negrete, Pedro Armendáriz, Andrés Soler and Rebeca Iturbide.Gennari p.86 It wa ...

'' (1952) * '' The Lone Wolf'' (1952) * ''

The Justice of the Wolf ''The Justice of the Wolf'' (Spanish: ''La justicia del lobo'') is a 1952 Mexican western adventure film directed by Vicente Oroná and starring Dagoberto Rodríguez, Flor Silvestre and Rosa de Castilla. It was shot at the Churubusco Studios in ...

'' (1952) * ''

The Wolf Returns ''The Wolf Returns'' (Spanish: ''Vuelve el lobo'') is a 1952 Mexican western adventure film directed by Vicente Oroná and starring Dagoberto Rodríguez, Flor Silvestre and Tito Novaro. Wilt p.161 The film's sets were designed by the art directo ...

'' (1952) * ''

Hot Rhumba ''Hot Rhumba'' (Spanish: ''Rumba caliente'') is a 1952 Mexican musical comedy film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and starring Adalberto Martínez, Lilia Prado and Óscar Pulido.Riera p.216 It was shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexi ...

'' (1952) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1953) * ''

The Unknown Mariachi ''The Unknown Mariachi'' (Spanish:''El mariachi desconocido'') is a 1953 Mexican comedy film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and starring Germán Valdés, Rosa de Castilla, Gloria Mange and Rosita Fornés.Agrasanchez p.26 The film's sets ...

'' (1953) * ''Sandunga para tres'' (1954) * ''Contigo a la distancia'' (1954) * ''

The Seven Girls ''The Seven Girls'' (Spanish: ''Las nenas del siete'') is a 1955 Mexican comedy film directed by Roberto Rodríguez and starring Manuel Palacios, Estanislao Schillinsky and Rosa de Castilla. Amador p.181 It was shot at the Churubusco Studios in ...

'' (1955) * ''Tierra de hombres'' (1956) * ''

Here Are the Aguilares! ''Here Are the Aguilares!'' () is a 1957 Mexican musical comedy Western film written and directed by Jaime Salvador, and starring Luis Aguilar, Antonio Aguilar, Rosa de Castilla and Lucy Gallardo. The film's sets were designed by art director ...

'' (1957) * ''La virtud desnuda'' (1957) * ''Desnúdate, Lucrecia'' (1958) * ''Tres desgraciados con suerte'' (1958) * ''El jinete solitario en el valle de los buitres'' (1958) * ''Milagros de San Martín de Porres'' (1959) * '' Yo... el aventurero'' (1959) as Gloria Cisneros * ''Tan bueno el giro como el colorado'' (1959) * ''Cada quién su música'' (1959) * '' Dos corazones y un cielo'' (1959) as Isabel del Río * ''Dos gallos en palenque'' (1960) * ''Me importa poco'' (1960) * ''Bala de Plata en el pueblo maldito'' (1960) * ''The Hell of Frankenstein'' (1960) as Estela * ''

Northern Courier ''Northern Courier'' (Spanish: ''El correo del norte'') is a 1960 Mexican western film directed by Zacarías Gómez Urquiza Zacarías Gómez Urquiza (1905-1982) was a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography * ''Jesusita en ...

'' (1960) * ''The Mask of Death'' (1961) * '' ¡Mis abuelitas... no más!'' (1961) * ''La comezón del amor'' (1961) * ''Ay Chabela...!'' (1961) * ''La justicia de los Villalobos'' (1961) * ''Pueblo de odios'' (1962) * ''Aquí están los Villalobos'' (1962) * ''Los forajidos'' (1962) * ''Horizontes de sangre'' (1962) * ''Ahí vienen los Argumedo'' (1962) * ''Vuelven los Argumedo'' (1963) * ''

...

'' (1964) as Lucha * ''Diablos en el cielo'' (1965) * ''Aquella Rosita Alvírez'' (1965) * ''El tigre de Guanajuato: Leyenda de venganza'' (1965) * ''Pistoleros del oeste'' (1965) * ''El jinete justiciero en retando a la muerte'' (1966) * ''Los amores de Juan Charrasqueado'' (1968) * ''Cuatro hombres marcados'' (1968) * ''El asesino enmascarado'' (1970) * ''El pueblo del terror'' (1970) (uncredited) * ''Campeones del ring'' (1972) * ''Las nenas de quinto patio'' (1995) * ''Reclusorio III'' (1999) * ''La paloma de Marsella'' (1999)

Television

* ''Los hijos de nadie'' (1996) as Amparo Valencia

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:de Castilla, Rosa 1932 births 2022 deaths Mexican film actresses Mexican television actresses Mexican stage actresses Golden Age of Mexican cinema Ranchera singers Actresses from Jalisco Singers from Jalisco 20th-century Mexican actresses 20th-century Mexican women singers Musart Records artists Women in Latin music