Figueroa, Gabriel (1908–1997)

Gabriel Figueroa (b. 26 April 1908; d. 1997), Mexican film photographer. Figueroa learned his trade in Mexico and in Hollywood. He was the principal photographer of Allá en el Rancho Grande (1938). Since then, he has filmed over 200 features for Mexican, North American, and European directors. Noted particularly for his work with black and white film, Figueroa was called "the greatest muralist of Mexico" by Diego Rivera. His aesthetic style is characterized by contrasts of darkness and light and by the use of panoramic shots. He has worked for such acclaimed directors as Emilio Fernández, Luis Buñuel, John Ford, and John Huston. Figueroa has received more Ariels from the Mexican film academy than any other photographer in Mexican cinema. In addition, he has been awarded major international prizes in Venice, Cannes, Prague, Madrid, and San Francisco. In 1971 he received the National Award for the Arts in Mexico.

See alsoAriel; Cinema: From the Silent Film to 1990; Rivera, Diego.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Luis Reyes De La Maza, El cine sonoro en México (1973).

E. Bradford Burns, Latin American Cinema: Film and History (1975).

Carl J. Mora, Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society: 1896–1980 (1982).

John King, Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America (1990).

Additional Bibliography

Figueroa, Gabriel. Gabriel Figueroa: Memorias. México, D.F.: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México: DGE/Equilibrista, 2005.

Castro, Antonio. Miradas sobre el mundo: Veinte conversaciones con cineastas. Cáceres: Asociación Cinéfila Re Bross, 1999.

Rivera, Héctor J. Tinta sangre del corazón. San Ángel, D.F., México: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1996.

                                        David Maciel