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Libertad Lamarque
Topics: Argentine actors Argentine emigrants to Mexico Argentine female singers Argentine film actors Argentine Mexicans
Libertad Lamarque was an iconic Argentine actress who became famous in Latin America while working in Mexican cinema.
Legend has it that Lamarque left Argentina because she had been blacklisted by Argentina's first lady Eva Peron. Marysa Navarro and Nicholas Frasier, authors of Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron (ISBN 0-7366-3838-5), however, say that this is not likely. Rather, say the authors, Lamarque moved to Mexico because the Mexican cinema was in a better state during the 1940s and 50s than was the Argentine cinema. The authors also point out that Lamarque travelled freely between Argentina and Mexico during the lifetime of Eva Peron and beyond, which does not support the blacklisting legend.
Even Lamarque herself denied during her lifetime certain aspects of the legend, specially the reports that she had slapped Eva on the set of La Cabalgata del Circo(1945). In her 1986 autobiography she flatly denied the allegations and explained that she was simply mortified by Eva's lack of discipline during production of the film. "She was constantly late"-wrote Lamarque- "and we all had to wait for hours, dressed in these uncomfortable period costumes, but sometimes she wouldn't even show up". Lamarque, who was the star of the film, complained bitterly to the director but "to no avail" -she remembered- "Eva did as she pleased and she had everyone charmed, even the director." After completion of the film Libertad went on tour and was offered a starring role in "Gran Casino" in Mexico. She struck a deal with the producers in which she declined payment for her work in exchange for the rights of the film's distribution in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Back in Buenos Aires, Libertad could not get any theatre to show her film. She also noticed that former friends were now avoiding her and that the printed media was ignoring her. By now Evita Peron was firmly established in the Casa Rosada, the Presidential palace, and somebody told Lamarque "confidentially" that the ban came from there. Libertad and her husband took their case directly to Eva who received the complaints gracefully and denied any involvement.
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