Marta Romero
Encyclopedia
Marta Romero is an actress and singer, who was one of the pioneers in Puerto Rican
television
.
Machuelo Abajo
of the city of Ponce
, on the south coast of Puerto Rico
. She is considered by many as a "natural performer" because she never took singing or acting lessons. In 1943, when she was fifteen years old, she made her debut on radio station WPAB. In 1945, she became the lead singer of the orchestra Mingo & His Hoopie Kids from Ponce. In 1950, Romero became a member to the group Las Damiselas (The Ladies), as the lead singer, with composer Sylvia Rexach
. In this vocal group, she also sang with Lucy Boscana
, then a young singer, and later an actress.
. Romero starred in over 25 soap opera
s such as La Divina Infiel (The Divine Unfaithful) in 1962. Her leading man during those times, was the late Spanish
actor Ricardo Palmerola. Soap operas were performed live, at those times, since video tape didn't yet exist. Among other soap operas in which she participated were, Cuatro Mujeres (Four Women), La sombra del otro (The Shadow of the Other) in 1966; La infamia (The Infamy) in 1967; Cuando los Hijos Condenan (When the Children Condemn) in 1968, and Entre la Espada y la Cruz (Between the Spade and the Cross) with Cuba
n actor Jose Yedra", among others. In 1975, she made her last appearance in a telenovela
, performing in Pueblo Chico (Small Town).
's Municipal Tapia Theater. Among others, her performances onstage in Puerto Rico were La Cuarterona (The Wicket), in 1967; Maribel y la extraña familia (Maribel and the Strange Family) in 1969, and El Hombre, la Bestia y la Virtud (The Man, the Beast and the Virtue), Romero's last performance on stage.
s “Es tarde ya” (It's Too Late), composed by Sylvia Rexach and "¿Qué sabes tú?” (What Do You Know?), composed by Myrta Silva
.
In 1965, she performed at the Lírico Theater in Mexico
. During her frequent seasons, her musical director was Mexican composer and pianist Armando Manzanero
.
As a result of being acclaimed by the Mexican Motion Picture Industry, in Mexico City
, she starred in El Señor Doctor (Mister Doctor) with Mario Moreno Cantinflas
and Miguel Angel Alvarez
, and Retablos del Tepeyac (Altarpieces of Tepeyac) in 1965; “Casa de mujeres” (House of Women) with Dolores del Río
, Matar es fácil (It's Easy to Kill) in 1966; La fiera (The Fierce), La sombra del murciélago (The Shadow of the Bat), Las vampiras/Deseo de sangre (The vampires/Desire of blood), with John Carradine
, Un Latin lover en Acapulco (A Latin Lover in Acapulco) in 1967, and Una puertorriqueña en Acapulco (A Puerto Rican Girl in Acapulco) in 1968.
, "La voz". In 1981 she was married for the last time, to Elías Najul Bez. The couple established their home in the municipality of Isabela
, Puerto Rico. Najul Bez died in 2006.
faith in the Puerta del Cielo (Heaven's Door) church, located in Caguas, Puerto Rico in 1975. Later, she became a preacher
at "Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal" (Pentecostal Church of God), and she continues vocalizing Christian gospel
songs. In the 1980s, she recorded her last album as an evidence of her true faith in God
, titled "He Vuelto a Nacer (I Have Been Born Again).
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Early years
Romero was born in barrioBarrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
Machuelo Abajo
Machuelo Abajo
Machuelo Abajo is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Canas Urbano, Magueyes Urbano, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón, Machuelo Abajo is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now also part of the urban zone of the city of...
of the city of Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, on the south coast of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. She is considered by many as a "natural performer" because she never took singing or acting lessons. In 1943, when she was fifteen years old, she made her debut on radio station WPAB. In 1945, she became the lead singer of the orchestra Mingo & His Hoopie Kids from Ponce. In 1950, Romero became a member to the group Las Damiselas (The Ladies), as the lead singer, with composer Sylvia Rexach
Sylvia Rexach
Sylvia Rexach , was a comedy scriptwriter, poet, singer and composer of boleros .-Early years:Rexach was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico. There she attended public school and received her primary education...
. In this vocal group, she also sang with Lucy Boscana
Lucy Boscana
Lucy Boscana was an actress and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television industry.-Early years:Boscana was born in the city of Mayagüez which is located on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Her family moved to the United States when she was a child because of the economic crisis in the island...
, then a young singer, and later an actress.
Television acting career
Her debut in television was in 1956, in TelemundoTelemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
. Romero starred in over 25 soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s such as La Divina Infiel (The Divine Unfaithful) in 1962. Her leading man during those times, was the late Spanish
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...
actor Ricardo Palmerola. Soap operas were performed live, at those times, since video tape didn't yet exist. Among other soap operas in which she participated were, Cuatro Mujeres (Four Women), La sombra del otro (The Shadow of the Other) in 1966; La infamia (The Infamy) in 1967; Cuando los Hijos Condenan (When the Children Condemn) in 1968, and Entre la Espada y la Cruz (Between the Spade and the Cross) with Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n actor Jose Yedra", among others. In 1975, she made her last appearance in a telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
, performing in Pueblo Chico (Small Town).
Theater acting career
On May 19, 1960 Romero made her official onstage debut, with the play En el Principio la noche era serena (At the Beginning the Night was Serene), written by Gerard Paul Marín, and performed at San JuanSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
's Municipal Tapia Theater. Among others, her performances onstage in Puerto Rico were La Cuarterona (The Wicket), in 1967; Maribel y la extraña familia (Maribel and the Strange Family) in 1969, and El Hombre, la Bestia y la Virtud (The Man, the Beast and the Virtue), Romero's last performance on stage.
Singing career
In 1963, she recorded her first album as a singer, Marta Romero Canta (SALP-1336), This LP includes, the boleroBolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
s “Es tarde ya” (It's Too Late), composed by Sylvia Rexach and "¿Qué sabes tú?” (What Do You Know?), composed by Myrta Silva
Myrta Silva
Myrta Silva was a Puerto Rican singer, composer and television producer. She was known affectionately as "La Gorda De Oro".-Early years:...
.
In 1965, she performed at the Lírico Theater 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...
. During her frequent seasons, her musical director was Mexican composer and pianist Armando Manzanero
Armando Manzanero
Armando Manzanero Canché is a Mexican musician and composer of Maya descent, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successful composers of Latin America....
.
Film career
In 1959, Marta Romero performed the leading role in Maruja, one of the first Puerto Rican films actually made in Puerto Rico. Later, she starred in several films in Puerto Rico: Ayer Amargo (Bitter Yesterday) in 1959; La fiebre del deseo (The Fever of Desire), La piel desnuda (The Naked Skin) and Mientras Puerto Rico duerme (Meanwhile Puerto Rico Sleeps) in 1964; Bello amanecer (Beautiful Daybreak) in 1966 and Amor perdóname (Forgive Me Love) in 1967.As a result of being acclaimed by the Mexican Motion Picture Industry, in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, she starred in El Señor Doctor (Mister Doctor) with Mario Moreno Cantinflas
Cantinflas
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin...
and Miguel Angel Alvarez
Miguel Ángel Álvarez
Miguel Ángel Álvarez, also known as "El Men," , was a Puerto Rican comedian and actor.-Early years:...
, and Retablos del Tepeyac (Altarpieces of Tepeyac) in 1965; “Casa de mujeres” (House of Women) with Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
, Matar es fácil (It's Easy to Kill) in 1966; La fiera (The Fierce), La sombra del murciélago (The Shadow of the Bat), Las vampiras/Deseo de sangre (The vampires/Desire of blood), with John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
, Un Latin lover en Acapulco (A Latin Lover in Acapulco) in 1967, and Una puertorriqueña en Acapulco (A Puerto Rican Girl in Acapulco) in 1968.
Personal life
Romero, was married five different times. Her first husband was the Puerto Rican singer Felipe RodriguezFelipe Rodríguez
Luis Felipe Rodriguez, better known as Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez, born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, was a singer of boleros. He is regarded as the most popular Puerto Rican male singer of the 1950s based on record sales and live audience records...
, "La voz". In 1981 she was married for the last time, to Elías Najul Bez. The couple established their home in the municipality of Isabela
Isabela, Puerto Rico
Isabela is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the north-western region of the island, north of San Sebastián; west of Quebradillas; and east of Aguadilla and Moca. Isabela is spread over 13 wards and Isabela Pueblo...
, Puerto Rico. Najul Bez died in 2006.
Later years
Romero retired as an actress and bolero singer because she embraced the ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
faith in the Puerta del Cielo (Heaven's Door) church, located in Caguas, Puerto Rico in 1975. Later, she became a preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
at "Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal" (Pentecostal Church of God), and she continues vocalizing Christian gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
songs. In the 1980s, she recorded her last album as an evidence of her true faith in God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, titled "He Vuelto a Nacer (I Have Been Born Again).
See also
- Cinema of Puerto RicoCinema of Puerto RicoThe history of the Cinema industry in Puerto Rico begins with the US invasion of the island in 1898. At that time, the American soldiers brought cameras to record what they saw. It was not until the 1912 that Puerto Ricans would begin to produce their own films.After this, Puerto Rican cinema has...
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Lucy BoscanaLucy BoscanaLucy Boscana was an actress and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television industry.-Early years:Boscana was born in the city of Mayagüez which is located on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Her family moved to the United States when she was a child because of the economic crisis in the island...
- Miguel Angel AlvarezMiguel Ángel ÁlvarezMiguel Ángel Álvarez, also known as "El Men," , was a Puerto Rican comedian and actor.-Early years:...
External links
- http://www.prpop.org/biografias/m_bios/marta_romero.shtml
- http://www.lexjuris.com/biografias/buscar/search.asp?rec_id=114