Arau, Alfonso (1932–)
Arau, Alfonso (1932–)
A Mexican actor and director, Alfonso Arau emerged in the early 1990s as one of the most successful filmmakers in Latin America. Born on January 11, 1932, he studied acting and dancing and, later, pantomime in Paris. Arau created a dance team with Sergio Corona and hosted a television program in Havana. As an actor he appeared in numerous films in Mexico and, later, Hollywood. As a director his films include Picking Up the Pieces (2000), To Catch a Falling Star (2000), Un paseo por las nubes (A Walk in the Clouds, 1995), Chido guan (Tacos de oro, 1984), Mojado Power (1979), Caribe, estrella y águila (1976), Calzonzin inspector (1974), and El águila descalza (1971). This Mexican filmmaker reached the pinnacle of art-house idolatry when he adapted a best-selling novel about the mystical aspects of gourmet cooking, written by his then wife, Laura Esquivel. Cómo agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate, 1992), whose script was also written by Esquivel, was met with worldwide acclaim and became the highest-grossing foreign-language film up to that time in the United States.
See alsoCinema: From the Silent Film to 1990; Cinema: Since 1990.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ciuk, Perla. Diccionario de directores del cine mexicano. Mexico: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA) y Cineteca Nacional, 2000.
Juan Carlos Grijalva