Dolores Del Rio

Dolores del Río (Spanish pronunciation: [doˈloɾez ðel ˈri.o]; born María de los Dolores Asúnsolo López-Negrete; 3 August 1905 – 11 April 1983) was a Mexican actress of film, television, and theater. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin American crossover star in Hollywood, with an outstanding career in American films in the 1920s and 1930s. She was also considered one of the most important female figures in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. del Río is also remembered as one of the most beautiful faces of the cinema in her time.

After being discovered in Mexico, she began her film career in the American cinema in 1925. She had roles in a series of successful films among those who stand out Resurrection (1927), Ramona (1928) and Evangeline (1929). Del Río came to be considered a sort of feminine version of Rudolph Valentino, a "female Latin Lover" in her years in American silent movies.

With the advent of sound, she acted in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas, musical comedies and romantic dramas. Among her most successful films of that decade include Bird of Paradise (1932), Flying Down to Rio (1933) and Madame Du Barry (1934). In the early 1940s, when her Hollywood career began to decline, del Río returned to Mexico and joined the Mexican film industry, which at that time was at its peak.

When del Río returned to her native country, she became one of the more important stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. A series of Mexican films starring del Rio, are considered classic masterpieces and helped boost Mexican cinema worldwide. Of them stands out the critically acclaimed Maria Candelaria (1943). Del Río remained active mainly in Mexican films throughout the 1950s. In 1960 she returned to Hollywood. During the next years she appeared in Mexican and American films. From the late 1950s until the early 1970s she also successfully ventured into theater in Mexico and appeared in some American television series.

Del Río is considered a mythical figure of cinema in Latin America and a quintessential representation of the female face of Mexico in the entire world.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 3, 1904 (Durango), Died April 11, 1983 (Newport Beach)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1936

Roles Represented in DAHR: soprano vocal

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor PBVE-42262 10-in. 5/6/1928 Ya va cayendo Dolores Del Rio Soprano vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble vocalist, soprano vocal  
Victor PBVE-42263 10-in. 5/6/1928 Ramona Dolores Del Rio Soprano vocal solo, with instrumental quartet vocalist, soprano vocal  
Victor PBVE-42264 10-in. 5/6/1928 Ramona Dolores Del Rio Soprano vocal solo, with instrumental quartet vocalist, soprano vocal  
Victor PBS-97312 10-in. 2/29/1936 Parlez moi d'amour Dolores Del Rio Female vocal solo vocalist, soprano vocal  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Del Rio, Dolores," accessed June 10, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105406.

Del Rio, Dolores. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 10, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105406.

"Del Rio, Dolores." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 10 June 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105406

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