Libertad Lamarque was an Argentine-Mexican actress and singer. Originally from Argentina, she reached fame throughout Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

 while living in Mexico and working in Mexican cinema

Mexican cinema

The history of Mexican cinema goes back to the ending of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events – most particularly the Mexican Revolution – and produced some movies that have only recently been rediscovered...

.

Career

Lamarque started acting professionally at only seven years old. Her family later moved to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 in 1922, where she worked in theatre, and years later recorded her first tango LP

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

, with great success. She filmed Adiós, Argentina in 1930, and the first Argentine film with sound ¡Tango! in 1933. Lamarque was a light soprano with a vocal range from approximately middle C (C4) to "high A" (A5). She was the first singer to be recorded for a sound film in Argentina.

Her fame crossed the borders of Argentina and grew throughout Latin America where she became known as La Novia de América (“The Sweetheart of the Americas”). By the time she died in 2000, she had appeared in 65 films (21 filmed in Argentina, 45 in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and one in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

) and six soap operas, had recorded over 800 songs and had made innumerable theatrical appearances. Even today her memory is revered and she is fondly remembered in all Spanish speaking Americas.

Legend has it that Lamarque left Argentina because she had been blacklisted by Argentina's first lady Eva Perón

Eva Perón

María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...

. Marysa Navarro and Nicholas Frasier, authors of Evita: The Real Life of Eva Perón (ISBN 978-0-7366-3838-8), however, say that this is not likely. Rather, say the authors, Lamarque moved to Mexico, where she was already adored by the audiences, because the Mexican cinema was in a better state during the 1940s and ’50s than was the Argentine cinema. The authors also point out that Lamarque traveled freely between Argentina and Mexico during the lifetime of Eva Perón and beyond, which does not support the blacklisting legend.

Lamarque herself denied during her lifetime certain aspects of the legend, especially the reports that she had slapped Eva on the set of La Cabalgata del Circo

La Cabalgata del Circo

La Cabalgata del circo is a 1945 Argentine musical film directed and written by Mario Soffici with Eduardo Boneo and Francisco Madrid...

(1945). In her 1986 autobiography she flatly denied the allegations and explained that she was simply mortified by Eva's lack of discipline during production of the film. "She was constantly late"—wrote Lamarque—"and we all had to wait for hours, dressed in these uncomfortable period costumes, but sometimes she wouldn't even show up". Lamarque, who was the star of the film, complained bitterly to the director but "to no avail" —she remembered— "Eva did as she pleased and she had everyone charmed, even the director." After completion of the film Libertad went on tour and was offered a starring role in "Gran Casino" in Mexico. She struck a deal with the producers in which she declined payment for her work in exchange for the rights of the film's distribution in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Back in Buenos Aires, Libertad could not get any theatre to show her film. She also noticed that former friends were now avoiding her and that the printed media was ignoring her. By now Evita Peron was firmly established in the Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada

La Casa Rosada is the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina, and of the offices of the President. The President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is pink, and is considered one of the most...

, the Presidential palace, and somebody told Lamarque "confidentially" that the ban came from there. Lamarque and her husband took their case directly to Eva who received the complaints gracefully and denied any involvement.

However, time passed and Lamarque films went unreleased, her recordings went unplayed on the radio and her face did not appear in any magazines. This is when the actress-singer decided to settle in Mexico and avoided visiting her homeland except for infrequent family visits. Lamarque was never formally persecuted or threatened by the Perón regime but was simply "non existent". She never worked in Argentina while the Peróns were in power and her countrymen were never officially informed of how important she was in Latin American show business.

Film

1. La mamá de la novia (1978)
2. La loca de los milagros (1975) .... Aurora Durban
3. Negro es un bello color (1974) .... Eugenia
4. Hoy he soñado con Dios (1972) .... Lina Alonso
5. La sonrisa de mamá (1972)
6. Rosas blancas para mi hermana negra (1970) .... Laura
7. El hijo pródigo (1969) .... Alegría Román
8. Arrullo de Dios (1967)
9. Los hijos que yo soñé (1965)
10. Canta mi corazón (1965) .... Luisa Lamas
11. Canción del alma (1964) .... María Maragón
12. El cielo y la tierra (1962)
13. El pecado de una madre (1962) .... Ana María
14. Bello recuerdo (1961)... aka Así era mi madre (Mexico)
15. Amor en la sombra (1960) .... Claudia
16. Creo en ti (1960) ... aka Esposa o amante (Mexico: subtitle)
17. La cigüeña dijo sí (1960)
18. Yo pecador (1959)
19. Mis padres se divorcian (1959) .... Diana Valdez
20. Sabrás que te quiero (1958)
21. Música de siempre (1958)
22. Cuatro copas (1958)
23. La mujer que no tuvo infancia (1957)
24. Bambalinas (1957)
25. Bodas de oro (1956)
26. Historia de un amor (1956) .... Elena Ramos
27. Escuela de música (1955) .... Laura Galván
28. La mujer X (1955)
29. Si volvieras a mi (1954) .... Alejandra
30. Cuando me vaya (1954) .... María Grever
31. La infame (1954) .... Cristina Ferrán
32. Reportaje (1953) .... Unemployed Singer
33. Ansiedad (1953) .... María de Lara
34. Nunca es tarde para amar (1953)
35. Acuérdate de vivir (1953) .... Yolanda
36. Rostros olvidados (1952) .... Rosario Velazquez
37. Mi campeón (1952)
38. Te sigo esperando (1952)
39. La loca (1952)
40. La mujer sin lágrimas (1951)
41. La marquesa del barrio (1951) .... Cristina Payares/La Marquesa
42. Huellas del pasado (1950)
43. Otra primavera (1950)
44. La dama del velo (1949)
45. Soledad (1947)
46. Gran Casino (Tampico) (1947) .... Mercedes Irigoyen
47. Romance musical (1947)
48. La cabalgata del circo (1945) .... Nita
49. El fin de la noche (1944) .... Lola Morel
50. Eclipse de sol (1943)
51. En el viejo Buenos Aires (1942)
52. Una vez en la vida (1941)
53. Yo conocí a esa mujer (1941)
54. Cita en la frontera (1940)
55. La casa del recuerdo (1940)
56. Caminito de Gloria (1939)
57. Puerta cerrada (1939) .... Nina Miranda
58. Madreselva (1938)
59. La ley que olvidaron (1938) .... María
60. Besos brujos (1937)
61. Ayúdame a vivir (1936) .... Luisita
62. El alma de bandoneón (1935)
63. ¡Tango! (1933) .... Elena
64. Adiós Argentina (1930) .... Bride of Homeless

Television

1. Carita de ángel (1 episode, 2000) Mother Superior Piedad de la Luz
2. La usurpadora
   La usurpadora
   La Usurpadora is a Mexican romantic drama telenovela produced by Salvador Mejia Alejandre and originally broadcast on Canal de las Estrellas from February 9, 1998 to July 24, 1998. It starred Gabriela Spanic and Fernando Colunga. This was one of the last telenovelas to feature Libertad Lamarque,...
   
    (1998) Grandmother Piedad Bracho
3. Más allá de la usurpadora (3 episodes, 1998) Grandmother Piedad Bracho
4. El programa de Hermida (1 episode, 1992)
5. Amada (1983)
6. Soledad (1981)
7. Mamá (1975) Soledad
8. Esmeralda (1970) Sister Piedad

External links

• Un Siglo de Libertad Blog-Homenaje a Libertad Lamarque
• Libertad at TodoTango