From Ninón Sevilla to Rosita Quintana: stars of the Golden Age who were not born in Mexico

During the Golden Age, several foreign talents decided to venture into the Mexican film industry and succeeded, as stars such as Ninón Sevilla, Miroslava Stern and Rosita Quintana catapulted their fame on the big screen.

The golden years of the seventh art in Mexico attracted dozens of artists to the country, as studios such as the Churubusco became a hotbed for talent thanks to the good reception that cinema produced in Aztec lands was getting.

Ninon Sevilla

Ninón Sevilla was one of the foreigners who came to Mexico as a vedette, because in her native Cuba she dedicated herself from her youth to dancing in nightclubs, where she began to gain fame. From the age of 15 he began to receive job offers to venture into cinema from Havana, but he would not have accepted the roles offered or other young women would have won him the character.

She arrived in Mexico hired to work in theaters, from where she became an acclaimed dancer. Thanks to the attention he began to receive from the stage, producer Pedro Arturo Calderón suggested that he act in one of the films that would be shot in his film studios. This is how the Cuban made her film debut with the film Carita de Cielo, in 1946.

Since then, his career has been gaining strength. One of the most important projects she starred in was the film Aventurera, with which she became the first dancer named Aventurera.

Miroslava Stern

Miroslava Stern, one of the most famous actresses of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, arrived at the age of 15 from the capital of Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. Due to the Nazi persecution that was being suffered during the Second World War, the actress' family had to travel to several countries until they reached Mexico.

From his youth he showed an interest in art and began to participate in beauty contests, including, thanks to one of them he was able to obtain a scholarship to study acting in the United States. He made his film debut at the age of 17 with the film Tragic Weddings, in 1946.

Her career was always on the rise, as she had a great charisma and was considered one of the most beautiful and talented actresses of the time. He succeeded alongside actors such as Pedro Infante and Mario Moreno Cantinflas. However, his career was cut short at the age of 29, when he attempted suicide for the third time and died.

Rosita Quintana

Another foreign star who triumphed in Mexico was Rosita Quintana. Argentina began her career from Buenos Aires, where she trained as a tango singer thanks to her grandmother, who was also a performer and guitarist.

Quintana wanted to become an actress, so she ventured into magazine theater. Soon after, when he gained fame for his tangos, he decided that it was time to seek a career in what was then the film mecca in Latin America, Mexico.

According to the actress, Jorge Negrete would have seen her work in the plays on one occasion when she was touring South America and would have liked the talent she had as a histrionist. So, one day they met in Chile, she asked him to help him find work in Mexico and he wrote her a letter of recommendation.

After trying her hand at the Mexican stage, Rosita won her first film offering and debuted with the film La Santa de Barrio in 1946, and although it took her time to gain recognition, with La última noche (1948) she finally got her first leading role.

Rosita managed to position herself as one of the top stars of Mexican cinema, but she also triumphed in music by singing regional Mexican music and tangos.

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