A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
An actress from Mexico's golden age of cinema has died.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Silvia Pinal celebrated her 94th birthday just a few months ago, although there's some disagreement about her age, with many news outlets reporting that she was 93. Pinal is a household name among many Spanish speakers, including here in the U.S.
ALICIA CIVITA: My grandmother used to watch her black-and-white movies.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Alicia Civita. She's the editor-in-chief of the entertainment website Enstarz Latino. She was introduced to Silvia Pinal at a very young age.
CIVITA: My first memory of her was a Cantinflas movie that I used to watch when I was like - I want to say 5.
FADEL: Pinal had many TV and film roles over a six-decade career.
CIVITA: She was beautiful, obviously.
FADEL: In the 1950s, the Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted a portrait of her posing in a black dress.
CIVITA: She had four husbands and a lot of loves.
MARTÍNEZ: Civita considers Luis Bunuel's 1961 film "Viridiana" to be one of her most iconic films.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
FADEL: In it, Pinal plays a young nun who is sent to visit her ageing uncle.
CIVITA: The Vatican found it blasphemy.
FADEL: And so did the Spanish government.
CIVITA: The Spanish government was under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and he ordered the destruction of all the copies of "Viridiana." And she hid one of the copies inside one of her coats, and she brought it to Mexico. And that is why we have "Viridiana" now.
MARTÍNEZ: Civita says one of Pinal's most iconic television series is "Mujer, Casos De La Vida Real," which ran from 1985 to 2007. The show paved the way for tough conversations about women's issues.
CIVITA: It made the Mexican and Latin American community talk about these situations that women would never talk in polite society or would never tell strangers. Abuse, death of children, discrimination at work, bullying - all the stuff that we are lucky that women like her brought to the light and we can discuss now so openly and is condemned.
FADEL: In addition to working in film and TV, Pinal also had a political career. She was heavily involved in unionizing actors in Mexico.
MARTÍNEZ: And she leaves behind a cultural dynasty. Her children and grandchildren have gone on to become actors, singers and influencers.
FADEL: Over the weekend, the Mexican government organized a state funeral for Silvia Pinal at a cultural center in the heart of the capital.
MARTÍNEZ: And she is being remembered as the last great diva of Mexican cinema.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MUJER")
EDUARDO ANTONIO: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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