Helena Cortesina

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Helena Cortesina (born July 17, 1903 in Valencia , † March 8, 1984 in Buenos Aires ) was a Spanish dancer , actress and director .

Cortesina was the eldest daughter of a family of artists. As a teenager she toured Europe as a variety dancer. She and her sisters Ofelia and Angelica Cortesina were known as Hermanas Cortesina . As a classical ballerina, she performed to the music of Spanish composers such as Isaac Albéniz , Manuel de Falla and Enrique Granados and was hailed as Venus valenciana . She was the model for the painter Joaquín Sorolla in 1917 for the painting Danzerinas griegas .

She made her film debut in 1920 in José Buchs ' films La venganza del marino and La Inaccessible . After the success of these films, she produced the film Flor de España in 1921 based on the screenplay by José María Granada , which was also her only film directing work. She then returned to the theater and joined the company of Catalina Bárcena and Gregorio Martínez Sierra . There she met her partner, the set designer Manuel Fontanals , with whom she had two children. She later became a member of the Lola Membrives Company , with whom she appeared in plays by Spanish and Argentine authors. Her theater work brought her into contact with artists such as Federico García Lorca , Rafael Alberti and María Teresa León .

After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War , Cotesina emigrated to Argentina. There she played in Edmundo Guiborg's film Bodas en sangre (1838) alongside Margarita Xirgú , Amelia de la Torre and Enrique Diosdado and founded her own theater company with Andrés Mejuto . She later went to Mexico. In the 1950s she returned to Spain and appeared in several films there.

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personal data
SURNAME Cortesina, Helena
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish dancer, actress and director
DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Valencia
DATE OF DEATH March 8, 1984
Place of death Buenos Aires