María Elena Velasco
Encyclopedia
María Elena Velasco is a Mexican actress, film director
, award-winning screenwriter
, producer
, and singer. She is also one of Mexico's few major female film directors. Starting her career as an extra in films, Velasco became famous for her interpretation of a Mazahua
indigenous woman with the name of "La India María
", whom she portrayed on various Televisa programs. Due to the fame of her comical character, Velasco starred in 23 films centered on La India María. She won an Ariel Award in 2004
for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Huapango.
. She began to dance in theaters and to act in radio comedies. She was spotted by a film producer, who gave her minor roles. As she developed the India María, at first she named her "Elena María" and began to portray the character in the "Teatro Blanquita".
-based American
comedies of Ma and Pa Kettle
and The Beverly Hillbillies
, Velasco has made a highly popular comedic representation of rural Mexico
as a typical Mexican indigenous woman named "Maria" who is often confused by urban life. The character she portrays is dressed in traditional garb consisting of traditionally braided and ribboned hair, colorful native-type blouses and skirts. In her films, she often goes out of her way to speak at least a few lines in native languages, such as Chichimeca and Nahuatl
. Although she may be ignorant about some things, Maria is wise about peoples' ways and ideas.
Velasco has said publicly that she wants India María to represent Mexico's poor social classes, and she has tried to carry out social messages in most of the movies she has made.
Velasco invented the India María character in 1972 for Mexican TV network Telesistema Mexicano (now Televisa
) for a comic segment of the weekly program Siempre en domingo. It quickly became a hit and in the same year, Velasco began starring in an enormously successful series of low-budget comedies that became a mainstay in Mexican movie theaters through the mid-1980s.
series. She received an Ariel Award in 2004
for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Huapango (a film not of the India María series).
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, award-winning screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, producer
Producer
Producer may refer toAn occupation*Executive producer, supervises one or more Producers*Film producer, oversees the making of films**Line producer, manages the budget and/or day to day running of a film production...
, and singer. She is also one of Mexico's few major female film directors. Starting her career as an extra in films, Velasco became famous for her interpretation of a Mazahua
Mazahua
The Mazahua are an indigenous people of Mexico, inhabiting the northwestern portion of the State of Mexico and northeastern area of Michoacán, with a presence also in the Federal District owing to recent migration...
indigenous woman with the name of "La India María
La India María
"La India María" is a fictional character portrayed and created by actress María Elena Velasco. The character usually endures situations of racial discrimination, segregation, and corruption, although in all of these turmoils, María undoubtedly resolves them with hilarious acts of good-nature and...
", whom she portrayed on various Televisa programs. Due to the fame of her comical character, Velasco starred in 23 films centered on La India María. She won an Ariel Award in 2004
Ariel Award in 2004
The XLVI Award of the Premio Ariel of the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas took place on March 30, 2004 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes...
for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Huapango.
Early life
María Elena Velasco Fragoso was born on December 17, 1940; to Tomas Velasco and María Elena Fragoso in the city of Puebla, MexicoMexico
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...
. She began to dance in theaters and to act in radio comedies. She was spotted by a film producer, who gave her minor roles. As she developed the India María, at first she named her "Elena María" and began to portray the character in the "Teatro Blanquita".
Rural Representation
Just as the popular ruralRural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
-based American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedies of Ma and Pa Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late '40s and '50s. They are a hillbilly couple with fifteen children whose lives turn upside-down when they win a model-home-of-the-future in a slogan-writing contest...
and The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, Velasco has made a highly popular comedic representation of rural 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...
as a typical Mexican indigenous woman named "Maria" who is often confused by urban life. The character she portrays is dressed in traditional garb consisting of traditionally braided and ribboned hair, colorful native-type blouses and skirts. In her films, she often goes out of her way to speak at least a few lines in native languages, such as Chichimeca and Nahuatl
Zapotec language
The Zapotec language are a group of closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico. Present-day native speakers are estimated to number over half a million, with the majority inhabiting the state of Oaxaca....
. Although she may be ignorant about some things, Maria is wise about peoples' ways and ideas.
Velasco has said publicly that she wants India María to represent Mexico's poor social classes, and she has tried to carry out social messages in most of the movies she has made.
Velasco invented the India María character in 1972 for Mexican TV network Telesistema Mexicano (now Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
) for a comic segment of the weekly program Siempre en domingo. It quickly became a hit and in the same year, Velasco began starring in an enormously successful series of low-budget comedies that became a mainstay in Mexican movie theaters through the mid-1980s.
Filmography
Velasco has starred in approximately 23 films in Mexico, and 3 televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series. She received an Ariel Award in 2004
Ariel Award in 2004
The XLVI Award of the Premio Ariel of the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas took place on March 30, 2004 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes...
for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Huapango (a film not of the India María series).
First film appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Ruletero a toda marcha Ruletero a toda marcha Ruletero a toda marcha is a 1962 Mexican film. It stars Eulalio González, María Duval, Norma Angélica, and Sara García.... |
Nurse | (uncredited) |
| 1963 | El rey del tomate El rey del tomate El rey del tomate is a 1964 Mexican comedy-drama film, directed by Miguel M. Delgado and starring Eulalio González, Luz Márquez, and Emma Roldán... |
Librado's client | (uncredited) |
| 1963 | My Memories of Mexico | Petra the maid | |
| 1963 | Los derechos de los hijos | María | |
| 1964 | El revólver sangriento El revólver sangriento El revólver sangriento is a 1964 Mexican film directed by Miguel M. Delgado. It stars Luis Aguilar, Lola Beltrán, Flor Silvestre, Emilio Fernández, Manuel Capetillo, Antonio Aguilar, and Irma Dorantes.-Plot:... |
Pedro's wife | |
| 1968 | El bastardo | La India María |
India María series
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Tonta tonta pero no tanto | La India María La India María "La India María" is a fictional character portrayed and created by actress María Elena Velasco. The character usually endures situations of racial discrimination, segregation, and corruption, although in all of these turmoils, María undoubtedly resolves them with hilarious acts of good-nature and... |
| 1973 | Pobre, pero honrada! | María |
| 1974 | Algo es algo, dijo el diablo | María |
| 1974 | La madrecita | Sor María Nicolasa |
| 1975 | La presidenta municipal La presidenta municipal La presidenta municipal is a 1975 Mexican comedy film directed by Fernando Cortés and starring María Elena Velasco, Adalberto Martínez "Resortes", and Pancho Córdova.-Synopsis:... |
La India María |
| 1976 | El miedo no anda en burro El Miedo no anda en Burro El Miedo no anda en Burro is a 1976 Mexican comedy film from Diana Films directed by Fernando Cortés and starring María Elena Velasco, Emma Roldán, and Óscar Ortiz de Pinedo.-Plot:... |
La India María |
| 1977 | Sor Tequíla | Sor María Nicolasa |
| 1978 | Duro pero seguro! | La India María |
| 1978 | La comadrita La comadrita La comadrita is a 1975 Mexican film directed by Fernando Cortés and starring María Elena Velasco, Fernando Soler, and Sara García. The film is about an indigenous woman who baptizes nearly all the animals on the day of the "blessing of animals" in the town... |
La India María |
| 1981 | OK Mister Pancho | India María |
| 1982 | ¡El que no corre... vuela! | La India María |
| 1983 | El coyote emplumado | India María |
| 1984 | Ni Chana, ni Juana | Emilia Falcón (Luciana) / India María (Juana) |
| 1988 | Ni de aqui, ni de alla | India María |
| 1993 | Se equivocó la cigueña | India María |
| 1996 | Las delicias de poder | Lorena Barriga / La India María |
Other films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Huapángo Huapango Huapango is a corruption of the Nahuatl word huapanco that textually means on top of the wood platform according to the dictionary of the Real Academia Española . Today huapango refers to a musical style that originated in and is played throughout the La Huasteca region in Mexico... |
Dance instructor |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Revista musical Nescafe | La India María | |
| 1998 | ¡Ay María qué puntería! Ay maria que punteria Ay María qué puntería! is a Mexican sitcom, from Televisa. It centers on the adventures of an indigenous Mexican woman named La India María, who works as a maid in Mexico City.... |
La India María | |
| 2003 | Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real Mujer, casos de la vida real Mujer, casos de la vida real is a television show produced by Hispanic television Televisa for Canal de las Estrellas. The show first aired after the Mexican earthquake of 1985 as a method to assist victims of the natural disaster... |
María | 1 episode - Amor Incondicionál |