Adela Sequeyro

Biography

One of the few women directors in the early days of Mexican film industry, Adela Sequeyro began her career in movies in 1923, after participating in a contest sponsored by Paramount Pictures and Mexican newspaper "El Demócrata". Although she didn't win the contest, she was the only contestant who made a movie career. She acted in some forgettable silent films between 1923 and 1927. After that, she moved to movie criticism and became famous for her columns signed as "Perlita". She combined journalism with movie acting and, in 1935, she co-directed her first feature: Más allá de la muerte (1935). She also wrote the script, produced and starred the film. She repeated the experience -this time by herself- in 1937 with Mujer de nadie, La (1937) which she also edited. Finally, she directed, wrote and produced her third and last feature in 1938: Diablillos de arrabal (1938). The poor response to her films made her return to journalism. She acted once in a while in some films between 1940 and 1949. In spite of her importance as a pioneer in Mexican film industry, Sequeyro's career was almost ignored until the early 90s, when her films were recovered and shown again.