María Elena Velasco

María Elena Velasco
Born	María Elena Velasco Fragoso December 17, 1940 (1940-12-17) Puebla, Puebla Mexico
Occupation	Actress, singer, dancer, and director
Years active	1962–1968; 1972–2004
Spouse	Julián de Meriche (?–1974; his death) 2 children

María Elena Velasco (born December 17, 1940) is a Mexican actress, film director, award-winning screenwriter, producer, and singer. She is also one of Mexico's few major female film directors. Starting her career as an extra in films, Velasco became famous for her interpretation of a Mazahua indigenous woman with the name of "La India María", whom she portrayed on various Televisa programs. Due to the fame of her comical character, Velasco starred in 23 films centered on La India María. She won an Ariel Award in 2004 for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Huapango.

Early life

María Elena Velasco Fragoso was born on December 17, 1940; to Tomas Velasco and María Elena Fragoso in the city of Puebla, Mexico. She began to dance in theaters and to act in radio comedies. She was spotted by a film producer, who gave her minor roles. As she developed the India María, at first she named her "Elena María" and began to portray the character in the "Teatro Blanquita".

Rural Representation

Just as the popular rural-based American comedies of Ma and Pa Kettle and The Beverly Hillbillies, Velasco has made a highly popular comedic representation of rural Mexico as a typical Mexican indigenous woman named "Maria" who is often confused by urban life. The character she portrays is dressed in traditional garb consisting of traditionally braided and ribboned hair, colorful native-type blouses and skirts. In her films, she often goes out of her way to speak at least a few lines in native languages, such as Chichimeca and Nahuatl. Although she may be ignorant about some things, Maria is wise about peoples' ways and ideas.

Velasco has said publicly that she wants India María to represent Mexico's poor social classes, and she has tried to carry out social messages in most of the movies she has made. Velasco invented the India María character in 1972 for Mexican TV network Telesistema Mexicano (now Televisa) for a comic segment of the weekly program Siempre en domingo. It quickly became a hit and in the same year, Velasco began starring in an enormously successful series of low-budget comedies that became a mainstay in Mexican movie theaters through the mid-1980s.

Filmography

Velasco has starred in approximately 23 films in Mexico, and 3 television series. She received an Ariel Award in 2004 for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Huapango (a film not of the India María series).

First film appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	Ruletero a toda marcha	Nurse	(uncredited)
1963	El rey del tomate	Librado's client	(uncredited)
1963	My Memories of Mexico	Petra the maid
1963	Los derechos de los hijos	María
1964	El revólver sangriento	Pedro's wife
1968	El bastardo	La India María

India María series

Year	Title	Role
1972	Tonta tonta pero no tanto	La India María
1973	Pobre, pero honrada!	María
1974	Algo es algo, dijo el diablo	María
1974	La madrecita	Sor María Nicolasa
1975	La presidenta municipal	La India María
1976	El miedo no anda en burro	La India María
1977	Sor Tequíla	Sor María Nicolasa
1978	Duro pero seguro!	La India María
1978	La comadrita	La India María
1981	OK Mister Pancho	India María
1982	¡El que no corre... vuela!	La India María
1983	El coyote emplumado	India María
1984	Ni Chana, ni Juana	Emilia Falcón (Luciana) / India María (Juana)
1988	Ni de aqui, ni de alla	India María
1993	Se equivocó la cigueña	India María
1996	Las delicias de poder	Lorena Barriga / La India María
2012	La hija de Moctezuma	India María

Other films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Huapángo	Dance instructor

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Revista musical Nescafe	La India María
1998	¡Ay María qué puntería!	La India María
2003	Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real	María	1 episode - Amor Incondicionál

External links

• María Elena Velasco at the Internet Movie Database