Galindo, Alejandro (1906–1999)

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Galindo, Alejandro (1906–1999)

Associated with the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema, Alejandro Galindo directed seventy-eight films during a varied career (1934–1985). Born on January 14, 1906, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, his family moved to Mexico City when he was still young. Rejecting his original plan to become a dentist, Galindo studied scriptwriting at the Hollywood Institute of Scriptwriting and Photoplay, gained practical experience as a laboratory technician/editor at MGM and worked alongside Gregory La Cava. His scriptwriting in La isla maldita (The Accursed Island, 1934), followed by his directorial debut in Almas rebeldes (Rebel Souls, 1937), established his career. Una familia de tantas (A Family Like So Many Others, 1948) used the common social denominator to draw in the public, and Espaldas mojadas (Wet Backs, 1953) offered an early snapshot of immigration to the United States. The swan song of Galindo's career, Lázaro Cárdenas (1985), a film about the onetime Mexican president (1934–1940), was not screened for political reasons. Galindo died on February 1, 1999. He is now remembered for films based on everyday life and believable dialogue.

See alsoCinema: Since 1990 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mora, Carl J. Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society, 1896 to 2004. 3rd ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2005.

Noble, Andrea. Mexican National Cinema. London: Routledge, 2005.

                                      Stephen Hart