Ignacio López Tarso (born Ignacio López López; 15 January 1925 – 11 March 2023) was a Mexican actor of stage, film and television. He acted in about 50 films and appeared in documentaries and in one short feature. In 1973 he was given the Ariel Award for Best Actor for Rosa Blanca, and the Ariel de Oro lifetime achievement award in 2007. He was honored multiple times at the TVyNovelas Awards. At the time of his death, along with Armando Silvestre, he was the oldest living actor and one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.[1]
Biography
Early life and education
López Tarso was born in Mexico City[2] to parents Alfonso López Bermúdez and Ignacia López Herrera, first cousins from the state of Guanajuato.[3] Because of his father's job, he spent his childhood in several cities including Veracruz, Hermosillo, Navojoa and Guadalajara. He had two siblings: Alfonso and Marta. At around age 8-9, when he was in Guadalajara, his parents took him to see a play, where he became interested in acting.[citation needed]
López Tarso lived in Valle de Bravo, Estado de México, where he went to secondary school. Although his family's economic problems kept him from attending high school, he joined seminaries in Temascalcingo, Estado de México, and Mexico City to continue his education. During his time there, a visiting priest from the United States organized a group to perform plays, in which he participated. He learned to read oral poetry and books of classical plays, including those by Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca.[citation needed]
When he was 20, he joined the military service at Querétaro, where he was in barracks for about a year. He also served in the Veracruz and Monterrey regiments, and eventually reached First Sergeant grade. After completing his service, he declined an opportunity to attend military school, even though he liked the discipline.[citation needed]
López Tarso worked in Mexico City as a sales agent for a clothing company. He aspired to work in the United States, and planned to work at an orange grove in Merced, California. However, a few days in, he fell from a tree and injured his vertebrae. He returned to Mexico City for rehabilitation therapy which lasted about a year.[citation needed]
Theatre
Tarso (with wig) during a play in August 2019
While López was in physical therapy, he read books on poetry and theatre, and became a fan of author Xavier Villaurrutia. After his recovery, he heard that Villaurrutia was teaching theatre at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, so he visited him, initially to ask for his autograph, but then was invited to listen in on his lessons. After a few days, he formally joined the theatre academy at age 24. When Villaurrutia advised Lopez to pick a stage name, he changed from "López López" to "López Tarso"; the Tarso was Spanish for Paul the Apostle's hometown of Tarsus, and also one of the cities in Mexico where Lopez had once lived. Besides Villaurrutia, he studied under other masters such as Salvador Novo, Clementina Otero, Celestino Gorostiza, André Moreau, Seki Sano, Fernando Wagner and Fernando Torre Lapham.
Ignacio López Tarso's theatrical work has been mostly performing in drama, though in the years 2014 and 2015 he starred in a two-person comedy written by Carlos Gorostiza and titled Aeroplanos ("Airplanes"); his performance on stage was presented with Sergio Corona who alternated appearances with Manuel "Loco" Valdés. The play was presented at the Teatro Independencia in Mexico City.
Film
López Tarso's film debut was in 1954, when he played a minor character in La desconocida, which was directed by Chano Urueta.[4][5]
In 1961, López Tarso starred in Rosa Blanca, directed by Gavaldón. Because the film was censured by political interests of the time, it was not released until 1972. He won the Ariel Award for Best Actor in 1973. Other notable movie performances included: Cri Cri, el grillito cantor (1963), directed by Tito Davison; La vida inútil de Pito Pérez (1969), directed by Gavaldón; The prophet Mimi (1972), directed by José Estrada; Rapiña (1973), directed by Carlos Enrique Taboada; and The bricklayers (1976), directed by Jorge Fons.[4]
Besides film, López Tarso appeared in over twenty television series, and released eight albums, in many of which he recited poems and corridos about the Mexican Revolution. He also positions in various organizations and trade unions related to the acting and cinematographic professions. Between 1988 and 1991 he served as a federal deputy, representing Mexico City's eighth district for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).[8][9]
Personal life and death
López Tarso married Clara Aranda, who predeceased him in 2000. They had three children: Susana, Gabriela and the actor Juan Ignacio Aranda.[10]
In early March 2023, López Tarso was hospitalized for pneumonia and an intestinal obstruction.[12] He died in Mexico City on 11 March 2023, at the age of 98.[13]
Awards and accolades
Tarso holding a recognition paper in a homage done for him by the Mexico City Government in 2015
López Tarso won many Mexican and international awards including the following:
Hispanic Heritage Society Award (2006, United States).
Ariel de Oro (Mexican Academy of Film, 2007, Mexico) for his lifetime achievement in the film industry. Shared award with the cinematographer, Rosalío Solano.
TVyNovelas Awards (Mexican Award 2011, Mexico) for his lifetime achievement on stage. Shared award with the actress, Silvia Pinal
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