Angélica Aragón

Angélica Espinoza Stransky (born 11 July 1953), known professionally as Angélica Aragón , is a Mexican film, television, and stage actress and singer. She is the daughter of Mexican composer José Ángel Espinoza ("Ferrusquilla"). Aragón is recognized for her performances in various Mexican films such as Cilantro y perejil, Sexo, pudor y lágrimas (1999), and El crimen del Padre Amaro (2002), as well as in American productions like A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2002). She is also well known for starring in two notable Mexican telenovelas: Vivir un poco (1985) and Mirada de mujer (1997).

Biography Early life Angelica Espinoza Stransky is the elder daughter of the Mexican actor and composer José Ángel Espinoza "Ferrusquilla" and Sonia Stransky. She had a younger sister named Vindia (deceased in 2008). On her mother's side, she has two half-siblings, Jacqueline and John. Her maternal grandfather, of Czech origin, was a soldier in the service of Emperor Franz Joseph of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and fought in the World War I. Her mother Sonia was the secretary of the musician Carlos Chávez. Her parents divorced when Angelica was three years old. She spent her childhood accompanying her father between television and film forums. Angelica lived with her mother and sister in a house in the Colonia del Valle of Mexico City, while also often living with her father. In 1970, she also participated in a play by the director Antonio Pasi within the Festival Cervantino, in Guanajuato. With the support of her father, she played a small character in the telenovela El amor tiene cara de mujer in 1971, produced by Televisa and directed by German director Fernando Wagner. It was through Juan Ribó that Aragón met the actor, director and playwright Alejandro Jodorowsky, participating as an extra in the film La montaña sagrada (1973). Aragón took her artistic surname in tribute to her paternal grandmother, Fredesvinda Aragón, who died in childbirth at the age of 19.

A strike at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México led Aragón to emigrate to the United Kingdom. She studied theater, dance, and pantomime for seven years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Eventually, she also took courses at the London School of Contemporary Dance. Parallel to her theatrical training, Aragón also did other activities in London. She worked as a cook, performed in a hospital, and sold children's clothing at Harrods. She also enrolled at the University of London, where she studied the philosophy of India, history, and languages. Aragón speaks seven languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Bengali, and Japanese. As a theater student, Aragón also worked for five years as a room dresser at the National Theatre in London. In 2002, she appeared in the controversial and successful film by Carlos Carrera El crimen del Padre Amaro next to Gael García Bernal, for which she won the third Silver Ariel Award of her cinematographic career. In 2004 she appeared in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, starring Diego Luna. In 2005 Aragón was part of the cast of the film La mujer de mi hermano, by Ricardo de Montreuil, alongside Barbara Mori. In 2006, she appeared in the film Bella by Alejandro Gómez Monteverde. In 2009 she appeared in the American production From Mexico with Love with Kuno Becker, in the Mexican production Recién cazado starring Jaime Camil, and in the American production Looking for Palladin by the filmmaker Andrzej Krakowski, with Ben Gazzara.

In the 2010s, Aragón acted in films like Cinco de mayo: La batalla (2013), again with actor Kuno Becker; the Spanish-Mexican co-production Todos están muertos (2014), by the filmmaker Beatriz Sanchiz, sharing a scene with Elena Anaya and Patricia Reyes Spíndola, and Treintona, soltera y fantástica (2016), starring Barbara Mori. In 2016 Aragón also lent her voice to a character in the Latin American dubbing of the animated Disney film Moana. In that same year, she also appeared in the film Mr. Pig, directed by Diego Luna and starring the American actor Danny Glover. For this performance Aragón received a nomination for a Silver Ariel Award in the category of Best Actress in a Minor Role.

Stage Aragón began her acting career in various student theater projects at the Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato and at the Teatro de la Alianza Francesa. After meeting Alejandro Jodorowsky, Aragón had a small role in the play Zaratustra (1970), also featuring Héctor Bonilla, Carlos Ancira and Isela Vega. She also had a small role in the work The Lady of the Camellias (1970), directed by Jose Solé Nájera and produced by Dolores del Río.

Some of Aragón's more significant roles on stage include El día que pisamos la luna (1981), of Nancy Cárdenas; Fool for Love (1986), by Sam Shepard, with Ari Telch; Los derechos de la mujer (1988), with Rafael Banquells; Contrabando (1991), of Víctor Hugo Rascón, with Héctor Bonilla; Águila Real (1992), by Hugo Arguelles, about the life of Isabel Moctezuma; Las dos camelias (1993), directed by Susana Alexander; Poker de reinas (1993) by Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda, alongside Ofelia Medina and the singers Betsy Pecanins and Margie Bermejo; Cartas de amor, directed again by Alexander, first with Héctor Bonilla (1994), and years later with César Évora (2006); and El juego de la pasión (1995), directed by Mario Espinoza, with Fernando Balzaretti.

In 1996, Aragón starred in the Hellenic Theater of Mexico City's monologue Maquillaje (Kesho), by the Japanese author Hisashi Inoue, which commemorated 100 years of Japanese emigration to Mexico. For this piece, the actress received special permission from one of the main Japanese actors of the Kabuki theater, Nakamura Kankurō V. In the performance, Aragón interpreted an actress who represents all the masculine characters on stage, in reverse fashion to conventional Kabuki theater. The editing was directed by Wendell Cordz and was an outstanding theatrical successes for Aragón.

Other successful plays featuring Aragón include El verdadero oeste (2008), directed by José Caballero, with Plutarco Haza and Fabián Corres; Pequeños crímenes conyugales (2008), directed by Luis de Tavira, with Ricardo Blume; El juicio de Hidalgo (2010), directed by and starring Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo and Relaciones peligrosas (2013), with Jacqueline and Chantal Andere and directed by Aragón herself.

Music Having received artistic training in the United Kingdom that included music, Aragón released a record titled Silencio corazónin 1997, born with the intention of preserving the compositions of her father, José Ángel Espinoza or "Ferrusquilla". The album was independently recorded. In 2009 she released the album Échame a mi culpa: vida y canciones de "Ferrusquilla", a musical of her father's life. This was supported by a theatrical project featuring the actor Roberto D'Amico. In 2010, on the occasion of the bicentennial of Mexican independence, Aragón released a third album titled México: mi palabra más bella, produced by her father. In 2013, Aragón released an album titled Su Majestad, El Bolero, a tribute to the bolero genre. The disc was released at the Lunario del National Auditorium.

Social and political activism Aragón has given theater workshops in various parts of Mexico. For several years, she has been part of the campaign known as Lectura en voz alta, responsible for promoting reading with children and adults in rural regions of Mexico. In 1989, when Aragón was filming Goitia: un dios para si mismo in Zacatecas, she had an affair with an old friend from her youth, the historian Rodrigo Martinez. As a result of this relationship, her only daughter, María, was born. Filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1971 1981 1982 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984 1985 Andrea Santos de Merisa Obregón 165 episodes 1989 Leonor Altamirano Najera 170 episodes 1990 Lucía 80 episodes 1990-1991 Magdalena Dumont de Muriel 185 episodes 1992 Chole 98 episodes 1993-1994 Chole 100 episodes 1995 (1995-1996) 1996 Josefina Rosales Vda. de Montero 3 episodes 1997 María Inés Domínguez de San Millán 240 episodes 2000-2001 Todo por amor Carmen Dávila 260 episodes 2003 María Inés Domínguez de San Millán 244 episodes 2005 Ni una vez más Azalea Episode: "#2.1" 2011 Dra. Elena Carrera Episode: "#1.1" 2019 Verónica 3 episodes 2020-2022 Lupe Voice role2 episodes 2022 Delia Muñoz 30 episodes Directing credits Year Title 1993 1996 2001-2003