Move over Frida and Diego: Here are history’s 5 most influential figures born and raised in Mexico City (Pt. 2)

Welcome backmost to our heavy dive into Mexico City’s astir influential taste figures! In portion one, we covered the amusement legends and sports icons who shaped Mexican nine — from Cantinflas creating his ain verb to Hugo Sánchez’s “divorce of the decade.” Now, successful portion two, we’re diving into much artists, rebels, and boundary-breakers who challenged conventions and redefined what it meant to beryllium Mexican. As a reminder, this database was compiled with the assistance of 3 born-and-raised capitalinos who helped maine place the taste phenoms that each foreigner should cognize to genuinely recognize Mexico. Ready for much chisme? Let’s proceed with figures that are definite to travel up astatine your adjacent vicinity get-together.

6. Eugenio Derbez (Comedian, Actor, & Producer, 1961–)

Actor Eugenio Derbez is 1 of the astir influential figures calved successful Mexico City. (X, formerly Twitter)

The arguable Eugenio Derbez achieved his fame done deed tv comedies, subsequently breaking crushed successful Hollywood successful the aboriginal 2010s. He wrote, directed and starred successful the 2013 movie “Instructions Not Included,” the highest-grossing Spanish-language movie ever released successful North America. Surprisingly, contempt his showbiz practice (he was the lad of histrion Silvia Derbez), Eugenio endured aggravated workplace bullying for years and was painfully shy earlier making it big. Known for his vibrant characters and advocacy for greater Latino practice successful media, his idiosyncratic beingness was arsenic screen-worthy. Derbez’s real-life “boda falsa” created a media circus and long-standing animosity with the public, fueling years of headlines and jabs. In 1992, Derbez and his large girlfriend, histrion Victoria Ruffo, staged a symbolic fake wedding to quiescent the press.

However, the lawsuit wasn’t legally binding and aboriginal caused feelings of betrayal erstwhile it surfaced that Ruffo believed it was real. This misunderstanding sparked feuds, custody battles and household rifts. He was estranged from his son, José Eduardo, for years owed to the breakup. The narration thawed lone recently, with the commencement of his granddaughter. Some colleagues and fans spot him arsenic arrogant and “difficult.” Numerous nationalist beefs were sparked by his crisp wit and pointed societal media posts.

7. Miguel Covarrubias (Artist and Anthropologist, 1904–1957)

Miguel Covarrubias with his archetypal wife, Rosa. (Gobierno de Mexico)

Known for his bold, colorful creation that fused modern styles with Mexican indigenous themes, Covarrubias’ multifaceted vocation included illustration, taste critique, and depository exhibitions. He lived a magnetic treble beingness betwixt Mexico and New York City. In the latter, for instance, helium became a prodigy by his aboriginal 20s arsenic a caricaturist for The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. Regardless of his success, Covarrubias was infamous for his chronic unreliability, which was truthful atrocious that helium failed to respond to urgent enactment for the Rockefellers and Whitneys. First joined to dancer and lensman Rosa Rolanda, their matrimony became strained implicit his governmental activism with Diego Rivera and different leftists. 

Those associations that would yet barroom him from re-entering the U.S. during the McCarthy era. With the extremity of his vocation successful the U.S. came the extremity of his archetypal marriage. He near Rosa successful the aboriginal ’50s for a overmuch younger student, Rocío Sagaón (with whom helium had a 29-year property difference). Later, helium joined her to footwear disconnected his caller section backmost successful Mexico. The narration ignited precocious emotion. Rosa Rolanda reportedly threatened Sagaón with a room weapon and past a pistol erstwhile the matter came to light, but was stopped by others earlier thing tragic happened. He died 5 years aft marrying Sagaón, leaving down a bequest of creator brilliance shadowed by idiosyncratic chaos.

8. Nahui Olín (Artist and Feminist Icon, 1893–1978)

Born and raised successful Mexico, Nahui Olín was a scandalous fig successful Mexican culture. (La Esmerelda)

Born successful Mexico City’s Tacubaya neighborhood, Nahui Olín was a bold, scandalous unit successful Mexican creation and culture. A painter, writer and muse, she defied the country’s blimpish norms with her unapologetic sensuality. She did things that were different unthinkable for a respectable pistillate astatine the time. Like posing nude for renowned artists and creating provocative self-portraits.

Her passionate, tumultuous relationships, notably with muralist Dr. Atl, were marked by outlandish nationalist outbursts. Once, upon discovering 2 women successful the location she shared with Atl, Olín flew into a acceptable of rage and tried to propulsion some women disconnected the balcony. On different occasion, Atl woke up to find his lover, bare and furious, pointing a revolver straight astatine his chest. After a struggle, she fired 5 rounds into the floor, sparing him his life. Not 1 to endure specified experiences successful silence, Olín fto the satellite cognize astir her anger. She erstwhile hung a handwritten enactment connected Atl’s beforehand door, denouncing his affairs for the full vicinity to see.

In her younger years, she was a celebrated fig successful Mexico City’s elite circles. But Olín’s aboriginal years were marked by tragedy. Eventually, she was ostracized, impoverished and forced to merchantability nude photos to survive. Despite dying successful comparative obscurity, she has since been rediscovered arsenic a pioneering feminist icon and fearless creator who blazed a way for feminist look successful Mexican creation and society.

9. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Intellectual, Poet and Feminist, 1648 oregon 1651–1695)

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was yet forced to merchantability her beloved library. (Public Domain)

Born illegitimate but precocious, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz stunned assemblage nine with her genius. As a teenager, she proved her intellect successful a nationalist statement astatine the viceroy’s court. She famously rejected matrimony and its consequent nonaccomplishment of independence. Instead, she joined a convent wherever her compartment became a literate salon for the colony’s elite. Known for razor-sharp wit, Sor Juana challenged religion misogyny and antheral hypocrisy done her writing. Her concealed critique, “Carta Atenagórica,” triggered backlash from spiritual authorities. Thanks to the Bishop of Puebla, who published her backstage missive without her consent, Sor Juana was pressured to renounce her studies.

She sold her beloved room and, arsenic fable has it, signed her last convent pledge successful her ain blood. Rumors swirled astir the existent quality of her adjacent friendships with pistillate patrons and nuns, fueling speculation that her affections crossed boundaries betwixt spiritual and romantic. At the extremity of her life, Sor Juana devoted herself to charity, taking connected the relation of caregiver during a plague outbreak. Her defiance and intellect endure arsenic almighty symbols of pistillate rebellion and brilliance successful Mexican history.

10. El Santo (Lucha Libre Legend, 1917–1984)

Famous wrestler El Santo was seldom seen without his mask. (Gobierno de CDMX)

Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta was Mexico’s archetypal legendary masked wrestler. He starred successful galore fashionable films that mythologized his persona. But helium maintained his masked individuality astatine each times, gathering an enduring mystique and taste awesome that represents Mexican folklore, justness and the spectacle of lucha libre wrestling. He maintained his disguise successful nationalist adjacent aft death, and lone doubly successful his beingness did helium uncover his face. The archetypal was successful a movie with a assemblage double. His 2nd uncover was connected television, conscionable weeks earlier helium died. It was arsenic if helium were giving a last curtain telephone to the nation.

El Santo’s ceremonial was unprecedented, with 10,000 mourners and postulation successful Mexico City grinding to a halt arsenic his masked assemblage was interred. He was buried wearing his iconic metallic mask, truthful that adjacent successful death, helium remained the quality that had captivated millions. His son, El Hijo del Santo (Jorge Ernesto Guzmán Rodríguez), besides became a lucha legend. However, helium faced his ain scandals and threats to writer implicit photos of his father, proving that adjacent legendary legacies travel with household drama.

Bethany Platanella is a question planner and manner writer based successful Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine deed that comes straight aft booking a level ticket, exploring section markets, practicing yoga and munching connected caller tortillas. Sign up to person her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog or travel her on Instagram.