Maria del Pilar Cordero, better known as Mapy Cortés (Santurce, San
Juan, Puerto Rico March 1, 1910 â€" Isla Verde, Puerto Rico August 2,
1998) was a Puerto Rican stage, film and television actress and dancer
who participated in many films during the Golden Age of Mexican
cinema, where she became one of the industry's most beloved and
bankable stars of the 1940s.Mapy Cortés began experimenting as an
actress since an early age, working in Puerto Rican amateur theater.
In 1932 Mapy traveled to New York City and married childhood friend
Fernando "Papi" Cortés. Under contract to a theatrical troupe
headlined by Dominican baritone Eduardo Brito, the couple traveled to
Spain. After the company disbanded, the couple began performing in
different teatro de revista companies, primarily in Barcelona. Mapy
Cortés made her film debut as one of the two female leads in the
comedy Dos Mujeres y un Don Juan (Two Women and a Don Juan, 1933). By
that time Cortés had a nephew, Paquito Cordero, who would become a
famed actor and producer in Puerto Rico.After the start of the Spanish
Civil War, Mapy and Fernando Cortés went to Marseilles before making
their way down to Argentina. Following stops in Buenos Aires and
Havana, where they appeared on stage and movies, the couple traveled
to Mexico City. They made their stage debut as part of the Cantinflas
revue and soon joined the growing Mexican film industry, which lacked
established female stars. Back-to-back starring roles in three hit
films - the Pan-American musical La liga de las canciones / The League
of Songs (Chano Urueta, 1941), the nostalgia musical comedy ¡Ay, qué
tiempos, señor don Simón! / Oh, What Times, Don Simon! (Julio
Bracho, 1941) and the Cantinflas comedy El gendarme desconocido / The
Unknown Policeman (Miguel M. Delgado, 1941) - quickly turned Mapy
Cortés into one of the most bankable leading ladies in Mexican
cinema. In 1942, Cortés made her only foray into Hollywood cinema,
playing a singer in the RKO wartime musical comedy Seven Days' Leave.
Her eponymous character is engaged to Victor Mature's soldier
character before he falls in love with a socialite played by Lucille
Ball. During this period Mapy also appeared in the U.S. State
Department propaganda short film Mexican Moods, made soon after Mexico
joined the United Nations. The short shows Mapy and Fernando
performing at the Roosevelt Hotel in Mexico City. Mapy sings the
Rafael Hernández song "Nada" (Nothing), which the couple later
performed in the 1966 film Luna de miel en Puerto Rico as part of a
tribute to the recently deceased composer.After filming Seven Days
Leave, Mapy Cortés returned to Mexico City and played top-billed
roles in contemporary romantic comedies and nostalgia musicals set
during the Mexican Belle Époque. The 1945 Mapy Cortés vehicle La
pÃcara Susana / Mischievous Susana marked the directorial debut of
her husband Fernando, who remained very active as a comedy director in
Mexican film and TV until his death in 1979, directing vehicles for
popular Mexican comedians like Tin-Tan, Resortes, and la India Maria.
Juan, Puerto Rico March 1, 1910 â€" Isla Verde, Puerto Rico August 2,
1998) was a Puerto Rican stage, film and television actress and dancer
who participated in many films during the Golden Age of Mexican
cinema, where she became one of the industry's most beloved and
bankable stars of the 1940s.Mapy Cortés began experimenting as an
actress since an early age, working in Puerto Rican amateur theater.
In 1932 Mapy traveled to New York City and married childhood friend
Fernando "Papi" Cortés. Under contract to a theatrical troupe
headlined by Dominican baritone Eduardo Brito, the couple traveled to
Spain. After the company disbanded, the couple began performing in
different teatro de revista companies, primarily in Barcelona. Mapy
Cortés made her film debut as one of the two female leads in the
comedy Dos Mujeres y un Don Juan (Two Women and a Don Juan, 1933). By
that time Cortés had a nephew, Paquito Cordero, who would become a
famed actor and producer in Puerto Rico.After the start of the Spanish
Civil War, Mapy and Fernando Cortés went to Marseilles before making
their way down to Argentina. Following stops in Buenos Aires and
Havana, where they appeared on stage and movies, the couple traveled
to Mexico City. They made their stage debut as part of the Cantinflas
revue and soon joined the growing Mexican film industry, which lacked
established female stars. Back-to-back starring roles in three hit
films - the Pan-American musical La liga de las canciones / The League
of Songs (Chano Urueta, 1941), the nostalgia musical comedy ¡Ay, qué
tiempos, señor don Simón! / Oh, What Times, Don Simon! (Julio
Bracho, 1941) and the Cantinflas comedy El gendarme desconocido / The
Unknown Policeman (Miguel M. Delgado, 1941) - quickly turned Mapy
Cortés into one of the most bankable leading ladies in Mexican
cinema. In 1942, Cortés made her only foray into Hollywood cinema,
playing a singer in the RKO wartime musical comedy Seven Days' Leave.
Her eponymous character is engaged to Victor Mature's soldier
character before he falls in love with a socialite played by Lucille
Ball. During this period Mapy also appeared in the U.S. State
Department propaganda short film Mexican Moods, made soon after Mexico
joined the United Nations. The short shows Mapy and Fernando
performing at the Roosevelt Hotel in Mexico City. Mapy sings the
Rafael Hernández song "Nada" (Nothing), which the couple later
performed in the 1966 film Luna de miel en Puerto Rico as part of a
tribute to the recently deceased composer.After filming Seven Days
Leave, Mapy Cortés returned to Mexico City and played top-billed
roles in contemporary romantic comedies and nostalgia musicals set
during the Mexican Belle Époque. The 1945 Mapy Cortés vehicle La
pÃcara Susana / Mischievous Susana marked the directorial debut of
her husband Fernando, who remained very active as a comedy director in
Mexican film and TV until his death in 1979, directing vehicles for
popular Mexican comedians like Tin-Tan, Resortes, and la India Maria.
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