Legendary Cuban entertainment star Rosita Fornés dies in Miami
Legendary star Rosita Fornés died in Miami early Wednesday of respiratory complications. She was 97.
“She died peacefully and surrounded by her loved ones. She was an excellent woman in every sense of the word,” daughter Rosa María Medel said. “Her altruism and kindness were unmatched. But the most important thing is that throughout her life she dedicated herself to making others happy. That was her great commitment every time she went on stage. ”
Considered one of the most versatile figures in the Cuban entertainment industry, Fornés was born in New York on Feb. 11, 1923. The daughter of Spanish immigrants living on the island, she became a Cuban citizen and developed a versatile career that encompassed cinema, the theater, radio, television and cabaret.
Her time in Cuban cinema is remembered for her performance in the comedy Se permuta (1985), the theatrical version of which she previously starred in during a long season. She also played many other roles in various films, including, Papeles secundarios, Plácido, Quiéreme y verás and Las noches de Constantinopla.
The actress, whose birth name is Rosalía Lourdes Elisa Palet Bonavia, began her career in 1938. At the age of 15 she landed a role in La corte suprema del arte, a radio amateur program. Her cinematic debut came in Una aventura peligrosa, a Ramón Peón comedy filmed in 1939.
Her career reached international status with performances in Spain and Mexico, where she was part of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema with the films such as Deseo, Del can can al mambo, Cara sucia and Se acabaron las mujeres . She also had roles in films co-produced with Cuba, including Tintán en La Habana, No me olvides nunca and Hotel Tropical.
In Mexico, she married Mexican actor Manuel Medel, father of Rosa María, her only daughter. After that relationship ended, Fornés returned to Havana in 1952. She eventually married the actor Armando Bianchi, who died in 1981.
The couple spent time together in Spain where they had stints with the Barcelona Comic Theater, the Madrid Theater and the Alcázar Theater between 1957 and 1959.
Fornés was celebrated for her roles on Cuban television in both musical and drama performances, including opera. In New York, she took part in a series of presentations at the Spanish Repertory Theater in 1996. And in Miami, she participated in the XIV Latin American Monologue Festival in 2015, featuring a body of biographical work.
In recent years Fornés resided between Havana and Miami, where he had a legion of admirers.
Her last performance took place at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium in 2019.
“A star of her caliber, she did everything well,” said Cuban composer Meme Solís, who also expressed displeasure that she was labeled a communist by some exiles about two decades ago for maintaining ties with Cuba.
“She stayed in Cuba for family reasons, she said she was too old to start again,” Solís said. “But few know that in the 1960s she defended many artists who were persecuted for various causes, and that she was a very Catholic woman.”
For Irene López, a lifelong friend who cared for Fornés during the months she was ill, the artist was inspiring figure for young Cubans living through the Revolution.
“Rosita was the only window to normality that gave us access to the beautiful things of a world that had disappeared in Cuba,” López said. “As the country collapsed and the people got demoralized, she kept going down the stairs of the [theater] ... with her fan of feathers ... without losing her class or her positive words,” said López. “She was a good woman who never held a grudge against anyone.”
In addition to her daughter, Fornés is survived by two brothers , two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 1:45 PM.
