Isela Vega Dies at the age of 81, emblem of Mexican cinema and the first Latina woman to appear in Playboy magazine.

The actress Isela Vega Emblem of Mexican cinema, she passed away at the age of 81, leaving behind a great trail of work and an overwhelming intelligence, beauty and character that marked more than 60 years of prolific career.

“Transgressive woman of our cinema; actress, screenwriter, producer and director of powerful stories. We bid you farewell with sadness, also with great admiration and affection, Isela Vega. Continue with us the enormous strength that you always gave to our screens ”, reported after midnight on Tuesday the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE) of Mexico.

Transgressive woman of our cinema; actress, screenwriter, producer and director of powerful stories.

We bid you farewell with sadness, also with great admiration and affection, Isela Vega.

The actress, who suffered from cancer, was the recipient of five Ariel Awards for Mexican cinema. Among them, one for his extensive career; another for best actress for her work in “La viuda negra” (1977), by director Arturo Ripstein; and for “Herod’s Law” (2000) for best female coercion.

Born in Cuauti, Sonora, on November 5, 1939, she became the Carnival Princess of Hermosillo at the age of 18. There she started her modeling career and went to study English in the United States.

His artistic career began as a singer in hotels and bars in Mexico City and as a model she participated in the program “Max Factor Hollywood” (1959).

But she changed course after preparing as an actress and her first opportunity in the cinema was to play Carmen in the film “Violent Summer” (1960), in which she shared credits with Pedro Armendáriz, Guillermo Murray and Gustavo Rojo.

From then on she was part of various film productions but it was not until seven years later that she achieved his first leading role together with the actor Mauricio Garcés in “Don Juan 67” (1967).

In 1973, Vega participated in the movie “With Fury in Blood”, opening doors to work abroad.

It was followed by his participation in “I want the head of Alfredo García” (1974), where in addition to shining for his performance, she showed his talent for music by composing and performing the main theme of the film.

This was not the only time that Vega was part of the musicalization of a film, in 1984 she also collaborated in the film “Wet Gringo” singing the songs “I woke up in your arms” and “The seven seas”.

His image as a sex symbol was fueled by the daring films in which she participated, including “SOS Conspiracy Bikini” (1967), “Desire comes at night” (1969), Prohibido (1970), “The feast of the wolf” (1972) or “Midnight Dolls” (1979), among several more.

Her beauty led her to become an icon in Mexico and even to become the first Latina woman to appear in the American magazine Playboy.

VERSATILITY AND CHANGE

In his long career she also had time to write, produce and direct. In 1980 she made her debut as a producer on the film “Dulces navajas” by Spanish director Eloy de la Iglesia, where she was also part of the cast as an actress.

After this experience, the responsibilities and her involvement in productions grew and by 1982 she served as producer, writer and actress of the film “Amor a navaja libre” directed by Rafael Potrillo.

Four years later, for the first time she became the director of “Lovers of the Lord of the Night” (1986) where she was also a producer, writer and actress.

His long journey in the entertainment industry also includes theater and television, she participated in soap operas such as “Señora temptation” (1994), “Gente bien” (1997), “Ramona” (2000), among others, and in television series like “Pantera” (2009), “Mujeres asesinas” (2008) and even “La casa de las flores” (2020).

Vega is one of the most prolific actresses in the country with more than 130 production titles in her long career.