Description
Actress Silvia Pinal is interviewed by Michael Ramos-Araizaga at the Colonia Pedregal de San Ángel in Mexico City on September 24, 2015. Pinal was born in Guaymas, Sonora, and became infatuated with acting as a child. She fondly remembers her father taking the family to the movies daily and finding inspiration in Hollywood musicals. She recalls her professional acting debut at the age of 15, working with director (and future husband) Rafael Banquells’s Teatro Ideal troupe. She details her film debut in La bamba (1949), lightheartedly noting her limitations as a young actress. She goes on to recount her collaborations with Mexican matinee stars Mario Moreno “Cantinflas” in Puerta, jovan (The Porter, 1950) and Germán Valdés “Tin Tan” in El rey del barrio (The King of the Neighborhood, 1950). Pinal expresses gratitude to both actors for instilling a sense of discipline and professionalism while working on set.
She describes her transition to musicals with director Fernando Cortés on Mis tres viudas alegres (My Three Merry Widows, 1953) and Las cariñosas (The Loving Women, 1953), musing on her ability to employ improvisitational techniques. Pinal discusses her role in Un extraño en la escalero (A Stranger on the Stairs, 1955), the first of several collaborations with Tulio Demicheli. She recounts traveling to Europe with Demicheli, working on Italian and Spanish productions between 1958 and 1960. She fondly recalls meeting Luis Buñuel and their subsequent work on the controversial films Viridiana (1961), El ángel extermindor (The Exterminating Angel, 1962) and Simón del desierto (Simon of the Desert, 1965).
Pinal would return to Mexican cinema in the late 1970s with Juan Ibáñez’s Divinas palabras (Divine Words, 1978). She admits that film’s nude scene made for the most challenging role of her career. Briefly covering her film appearances in the early 1980s, Pinal discusses her appointment as president of the Asociación Nacional de Intérpretes (ANDI) in 1988, stressing her commitment to the rights of actors. Pinal recalls her return to the Mexican silver screen after a lengthy hiatus with Modelo antiguo (Vintage Model, 1992) before resuming her career in the political arena. She closes with thoughts on the evolution of Mexican cinema and its cultural importance within the global Latin diaspora.
(jtakahashi 7/21/17)
