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Angelitos negros (1970 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Angelitos negros' (English: Little Black Angels) is a 1970 Mexican melodrama written and directed by Joselito Rodrguez and starring Manuel Lpez Ochoa, Martha Rangel, Titina Romay, and American actress Juanita Moore, whose voice was dubbed to Spanish.McCann, p. 236Staggs, p. 217Garca Riera, p. 1967 The film is a remake of the 1948 film of the same name, also directed by Joselito Rodrguez, in which Titina Romay played the role of the black daughter in blackface. Rangel and Romay were the director's daughters.
Plot
Juan Carlos Ruiz (Manuel Lpez Ochoa) is a singer who meets Ana Luisa de la Fuente (Martha Rangel), who works at an all-girls school. Juan Carlos begins to court Ana Luisa, who soon starts to demonstrate prejudice against black people, criticizing the fact that Juan Carlos performs alongside black artists like Isabel (Titina Romay, in blackface), a Puerto Rican black woman who loves him. Ana Luisa has a black nanny called Merc (Juanita Moore) that has cared for her all her life. Though Ana Luisa is fond of her, she mistreats her for being a black servant. Merc opposes the relationship between Ana Luisa and Juan Carlos and their engagement. She tearfully confesses to Father Francisco (Carlos Martnez Baena) that she is Ana Luisa's real mother. She had an affair with Mr. de la Fuente, her widowed boss. Since Ana Luisa could pass for white, Merc renounced her motherhood, continuing to work as a servant to be near her.
Ana Luisa marries Juan Carlos, but asks Isabel and Merc to not come to the wedding ceremony. During a tour, Ana Luisa learns she is pregnant and they return to Mexico, where she gives birth to a daughter, Beln (Juanita Hernndez). At the hospital, Ana Luisa is horrified to find out her baby is black. At first, Juan Carlos thinks it's a bad joke, but after learning the truth from Merc and Father Francisco, he accepts having a black daughter and agrees to "take the blame" for her skin color.
The racist Ana Luisa rejects Beln, who suffers because her mother does not love her. At one point, Beln tries to win over her mother by painting her face white. When Merc falls ill, Juan Carlos asks Isabel to take care of Beln because her mother does not give her any attention. Tragedy occurs when Ana Luisa, mistakenly believing that Isabel is Juan Carlos's lover, decides to abandon her family. Merc tries to stop her, but Ana Luisa reacts violently and throws her down the stairs by accident. As she falls down, Juan Carlos tells Ana Luisa that Merc is her mother. A repentant Ana Luisa begs for Merc's forgiveness right before she dies.
Cast
* Manuel Lpez Ochoa as Juan Carlos Flores
* Martha Rangel as Ana Luisa de la Fuente
* Titina Romay as Isabel Contreras
* Juanita Moore as Nanny Merc
* Juanita Hernndez Mejia as Beln
* Neftal Lpez Paez as Mr. Lpez Paez
* Norma Jimnez Pons as Maru Espinosa
* Carlos Martnez Baena as Father Francisco
* Fedora Capdevila as Nurse
* Carlos Bravo y Fernndez as Carlillos, reporter (uncredited)
* Joselito Rodrguez as Don Mauricio Bad (uncredited)
*Jess Magaa as himself, photographer (uncredited)
References
Bibliography
*McCann, Bob. 'Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television'. McFarland, 2009.
*Staggs, Sam. 'Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life'. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2009.
*Garca Riera, Emilio. 'Breve historia del cine mexicano: primer siglo, 18971997'. Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografa, 1998.
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