Miroslava (actress)

Miroslava Šternová (February 26, 1925 – March 9, 1955), better known as Miroslava, was a Czechoslovak-born Mexican film actress who appeared in thirty two films.[1]

Miroslava
Born
Miroslava Šternová

(1925-02-26)February 26, 1925
Prague, Czechoslovakia
DiedMarch 9, 1955(1955-03-09) (aged 30)
Mexico City, Mexico
Resting placePanteón Francés de San Joaquín, Mexico City, Mexico
NationalityCzechoslovakia
Other namesMiroslava Stern
Spouse(s)Jesús Jaime Obregón

Biography

Born Miroslava Šternová in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Miroslava moved to Mexico as a child with her mother and adoptive Jewish father in 1941, seeking to escape war in their native country.[2] After winning a national beauty contest, Miroslava began to study acting. She worked steadily in films produced in Mexico, from 1946 to 1955, as well as three Hollywood films during that period.

Miroslava filmed Ensayo de un crimen (Rehearsal for a Crime) in 1955, directed by Luis Buñuel. On March 9 of that year, soon after filming ended (the film was released in May), Miroslava committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills.[3] Her body was found lying outstretched over her bed, she had a portrait of bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín in one hand. The Mexican and Hollywood star Katy Jurado claimed to be one of the first people to find the body. According to Jurado, the picture that Miroslava had between her hands was of Mexican comedian Cantinflas, but the artistic manager Fanny Schatz exchanged the photo for that of the Spanish bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín.[4] Another source states that her body was found by actress Ninón Sevilla.[5] Miroslava's friends stated her suicide was due to unrequited love for Dominguín, who had recently married[3] Italian actress Lucia Bosè. Others claimed that her unrequited lover was Mario Moreno "Cantinflas."[6] Still another version says she died in a plane crash[7] when traveling in the company of "her lover", Mexican businessman and sports executive, Jorge Pasquel. The accident happened on a slope in the steep mountains, 9 miles (15 kilometers) from the landing strip of his Hacienda San Ricardo,[8] nowadays Laguna del Mante, a town located in the municipality of Ciudad Valles, in the State of San Luis Potosí, on 8 March, 1955.[9] However, this last version would be implausible, given the "perfect state" of Miroslava's corpse in her bed, as published in the newspapers, it does not correspond to that of a violent death.

In his 1983 autobiography, Mon dernier soupir (My Last Breath), Buñuel recalls the irony of Miroslava's cremation following her suicide, when compared to a scene in Ensayo de un crimen, her last film, in which the protagonist cremates a wax reproduction of Stern's character. Her life is the subject of a short story by Guadalupe Loaeza,[10] which was adapted by Alejandro Pelayo for his 1992 Mexican film called Miroslava, starring Arielle Dombasle.[11]

Filmography

Documentaries
  • El charro inmortal (1955)
  • Torero (1956)

Feature films

United States

See also
  • Foreign-born artists in Mexico

References
  1. Our word is our weapon: selected writings. By Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, Juana Ponce de León, José Saramago. Seven Stories Press. p. 244.
  2. Bednář, Václav. "Osudy hranických židů po II. světové válce". vaclavbednar.wz.cz. Václav Bednář. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  3. "Hundreds at Rites for Actress Who Killed Self". Los Angeles Times. March 12, 1955.
  4. "Katy Jurado: Estrella de Hollywood orgullosamente mexicana". Revista Somos. Editorial Televisa S.A de C.V. 1999. p. 100.
  5. Gutierrez, Estephanie (February 26, 2018). "Miroslava, la bella actriz que se suicidó por amor". De10.mx. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  6. Lenero, Vicente (December 6, 2015). "El suicidio de Miroslava". Proceso. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  7. "La otra muerte de Miroslava" (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  8. "Jorge Pasquel, víctima de Tanchipa" (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  9. "El maniquí de Buñuel" (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  10. Relocating identities in Latin American cultures. By Elizabeth Montes Garcés. p. 33.
  11. Mexican cinema: reflections of a society, 1896-2004. By Carl J. Mora. McFarland & Comanpy. p. 210.
  • Agrasánchez Jr., Rogelio (2001). Bellezas del cine mexicano/Beauties of Mexican Cinema. Archivo Fílmico Agrasánchez. ISBN 968-5077-11-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.