Ángeles Cruz

Ángeles Cruz (born 1969) is a Mexican actress, film director, and screenwriter. As a filmmaker, she has focused on themes of ostracization, female sexuality, and gender violence. As she explained in a 2022 interview, "I have three imbalances: I come from an indigenous community, I am a woman, and I am a lesbian – things that have been stereotyped and placed in an emerging situation of survival."[1]

Ángeles Cruz
At the 4th Women's Film Festival in 2021
Born1969 (age 53–54)
Villa Guadalupe Victoria, San Miguel el Grande, Oaxaca, Mexico
EducationInstituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura
Occupation(s)Actress, director, screenwriter
AwardsAriel Award (2013, 2019, 2022)

Her work has been recognized with three Ariel Awards.

Biography

Ángeles Cruz is originally from Villa Guadalupe Victoria in San Miguel el Grande, a mostly indigenous community high in the mountains of Oaxaca.[2][3] She grew up primarily speaking Spanish, but learned some Mixtec from her father.[4] In her community there was no electricity, no water, and no cinema. She saw only one film in her first sixteen years, El joven Juárez, which her father had in 16 mm.[1] "When I saw the film for the first time in a cinema, it changed me, transformed me; it totally pulled out the rug," she recalled.[5]

She wanted to be an agronomist and dedicate herself to farming, but her family had to relocate, first to Tlaxiaco, and later to Oaxaca. There, she switched to studying theater, a decision she credits to her high school teacher Sergio Santamaría.[6]

Cruz studied at the Miguel Cabrera Center of Artistic Education in Oaxaca, and later completed a licentiate in acting at the INBA Theater Art School in Mexico City.[7]

In the play El árbol (2016)

In 1994, she began getting roles in cinema. Her first film as an actress was the Swedish-Danish drama La hija del puma about massacres that occurred in Guatemala against the indigenous people.[1] Her performance was nominated for the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.[7]

In 2011, Cruz started writing her own stories, and directed a short film made from one such script, La tiricia o cómo curar la tristeza. It was produced by the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, and won the Ariel Award for Best Short Film in 2013.[8]

She continued with the shorts La carta and Arcángel, followed by her first feature, Nudo Mixteco, starring Sonia Couoh and Noé Hernández, which tells three stories of women living in indigenous communities in Oaxaca. Regarding the film's explicit love scenes between women, Cruz said,

Homosexuality has been crossed out in the world due to ignorance and due to this impasse that exists. For me it was important to name it and show it forcefully, not leave it to the imagination, not self-censor and let it remain in the line of imagination for the viewer to complete. I feel that it is a beautiful manifestation of love, and I feel that lesbian women in the communities have also remained in the dark, marginalized. Male homosexuality is named, everything from the male gaze. It seemed important to me to name it.[9]

Filmography

Films as director
  • La tiricia o cómo curar la tristeza - short; 2012
  • La carta - short; 2014
  • Arcángel - short; 2018
  • Nudo Mixteco - 2021
  • Valentina or the Serenity (Valentina o la serenidad) - 2023

Films as actress
Year Title Role Director
1994La hija del pumaAschlopÅsa Faringer and Ulf Hultberg
1998The Other ConquestDoncellaSalvador Carrasco
2000Rito terminalCeliaÓscar Urrutia Lazo
2002Aro Tolbukhin: In the Mind of a KillerAgustí Villaronga
2005The ViolinJefa Guerrilera 1Francisco Vargas
2008EspiralAraceli 2Jorge Pérez Solano
2010Marcelino, pan y vinoPetraJosé Luis Gutiérrez Arias
2011Cenizas EternasMatiriMargarita Cadenas
2012The GirlRosa's motherDavid Riker
2016Tamara y la catarinaTamaraLucía Carreras
2018Dos FridasAdelitaIshtar Yasin Gutierrez
Tiempo de lluviaSoledadItandehui Jansen
TraiciónIgnacio Ortiz
2019La ira o el seolJuan Mora Catlett

TV series as actress
Year Title Role Channel
2001–2005Lo que callamos las mujeresRosa, TomasaAzteca Uno
2008CapadociaFernanda CastrejónHBO
2017El ChapoEvelinaUnivision
2018MalincheMactiCanal Once
2018–2020Here on EarthJacobinaFox Premium

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2000Ariel AwardBest Supporting ActressRito terminalNominated[10]
2013Ariel AwardBest Fiction ShortLa tiricia o cómo curar la tristezaWon[8]
2014Guldbagge AwardBest Actress in a Leading RoleLa hija del pumaNominated[7]
2015Ariel AwardBest Fiction ShortLa cartaNominated[11]
2017Silver Columbus from the Huelva Ibero-American Film FestivalBest ActressTamara y la catarinaWon[12]
2019Ariel AwardBest Fiction ShortArcángelWon[13]
Jury Film Award from the
Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival		Best Narrative Short Film: DramaWon[14]
Coral Prize from the
Havana Film Festival		Best Fiction ShortWon[15]
2022Ariel AwardBest First WorkNudo MixtecoWon[16]
Ariel AwardBest PictureNominated[17]
Canvas Award from the
MOOOV Filmfestival		Best PictureWon[18]

References
  1. Gochi, Víctor (17 October 2022). "'Soy mujer, indígena y lesbiana': Ángeles Cruz" [I am a Woman, Indigenous and Lesbian: Ángeles Cruz]. Homosensual (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. Hinojoza, Isela (7 March 2019). "Sexualidad de mujeres indígenas oaxaqueñas llegará al cine" [Sexuality of Indigenous Oaxacan Women Will Reach the Cinema]. El Universal (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  3. Ángeles Cruz estrena en Francia su película 'Nudo Mixteco' [Ángeles Cruz Premieres Her Film "Nudo Mixteco" in France] (in Spanish). RFI Español. 11 October 2021. Event occurs at 17:58. Retrieved 11 August 2023 – via YouTube. Mi comunidad Villa Guadalupe Victoria se rige por usos y costumbres. [My community Villa Guadalupe Victoria is governed by habits and customs.]
  4. Ángeles Cruz estrena en Francia su película 'Nudo Mixteco' [Ángeles Cruz Premieres Her Film "Nudo Mixteco" in France] (in Spanish). RFI Español. 11 October 2021. Event occurs at 5:35. Retrieved 11 August 2023 – via YouTube. Mi madre habla español y mi padre hablaba el mixteco y entonces sé algunas cosas de mixteco. Lo entiendo, lo hablo poco, pero si el mixteco digamos que es mi lengua paterna. [My mother speaks Spanish and my father spoke Mixtec, and so I know a few things in Mixtec. I understand it, I speak a little, but let's say Mixtec is my father tongue.]
  5. Ángeles Cruz estrena en Francia su película 'Nudo Mixteco' [Ángeles Cruz Premieres Her Film "Nudo Mixteco" in France] (in Spanish). RFI Español. 11 October 2021. Event occurs at 8:39. Retrieved 11 August 2023 – via YouTube. Cuando vi por primera vez la película en un cine, cambió, me transformó, me movió todo el tapete.
  6. Ángeles Cruz estrena en Francia su película 'Nudo Mixteco' [Ángeles Cruz Premieres Her Film "Nudo Mixteco" in France] (in Spanish). RFI Español. 11 October 2021. Event occurs at 2:46. Retrieved 11 August 2023 – via YouTube. Tuve la fortuna de llegar a la preparatoria en Mexico, primero a la ciudad de Oaxaca, y ahí un maestro que determinó digamos, que yo está aquí. Que es el maestro Sergio Santamaría, y qué decidió que tenía algo que hacer en el teatro. [I was fortunate to arrive at high school in Mexico, first in the city of Oaxaca, and there a teacher who determined, let's say, that I am here. That is the teacher Sergio Santamaría, and who decided that I had something to do in the theater.]
  7. Padilla, Greta (27 February 2019). "No sólo es Yalitza: Conoce a Ángeles Cruz, la talentosa directora y actriz de Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca" [It's not just Yalitza: Meet Ángeles Cruz, the talented director and actress from Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca]. Sopitas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  8. "La cinta 'El Premio' de Paula Markovitch, la gran ganadora de la 55ª entrega de los premios Ariel" [The Film "El Premio" by Paula Markovitch, the Big Winner of the 55th Ariel Awards]. ¡Hola! (in Spanish). 29 May 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  9. Ángeles Cruz estrena en Francia su película 'Nudo Mixteco' [Ángeles Cruz Premieres Her Film "Nudo Mixteco" in France] (in Spanish). RFI Español. 11 October 2021. Event occurs at 23:25. Retrieved 11 August 2023 – via YouTube. La homosexualidad ha estado tachada en el mundo por ignorancia y por esta cerrazón que existe y para mi era importante nombrarlo y mostrarlo de manera contundente, no dejarlo a la imaginación, no autocensurarme y dejarlo que quede en la línea de la imaginación y que el espectador la complete. Siento que es una manifestación bellísima el amor y siento que también las mujeres lesbianas en las comunidades han permanecido en la oscuridad, marginadas. Se nombra la homosexualidad masculina, todo desde la mirada masculina, a mi me parecía importante nombrarlo.
  10. Mateos, Mónica (9 June 2000). "Cintas de Rulfo, Estrada y Urrutia, nominadas al Ariel" [Films by Rulfo, Estrada, and Urrutia Nominated for the Ariel]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  11. "Lista de ganadores del Ariel 2015". Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  12. Written at Huelva. "El Iberoamericano rinde homenaje a la directora de producción Manuela Ocón en su clausura" [The Ibero-American Pays Tribute to Production Director Manuela Ocón at its Closing Ceremony]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Spain. Europa Press. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  13. Magaña Arce, Arturo (1 July 2019). "Exclusiva: Ganadores del Ariel 2019". Cine Premiere (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  14. Festival Wrap (PDF). Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival. 19 March 2019. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  15. "Premios Coral edición 40" (in Spanish). Havana Film Festival. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  16. "Prayers for the Stolen and A Cop Movie Top Mexico's Ariel Awards". Cinema Tropical. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  17. "Prayers for the Stolen Sweeps Mexico's Ariel Awards Nominations". Cinema Tropical. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  18. "Mexicaanse film 'Nudo Mixteco' wint MOOOV Filmfestival" [Mexican film "Nudo Mixteco" wins MOOOV Film Festival] (in Dutch). VRT. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
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