Research Catalog
La India María : Mexploitation and the films of María Elena Velasco
- Title
- La India María : Mexploitation and the films of María Elena Velasco / Seraina Rohrer.
- Author
- Rohrer, Seraina, 1977-
- Publication
- Austin, TX : University of Texas Press, 2017.
- ©2017
Items in the Library & Off-site
Filter by
1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Performing Arts Research Collections to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | MWES (Velasco, M.) 18-1522 | Performing Arts Research Collections - Theatre |
Details
- Description
- 220 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
- Summary
- La India Maria--a humble and stubborn indigenous Mexican woman--is one of the most popular characters of the Mexican stage, television, and film. Created and portrayed by Maria Elena Velasco, La India Maria has delighted audiences since the late 1960s with slapstick humor that slyly critiques discrimination and the powerful. At the same time, however, many critics have derided the iconic figure as a racist depiction of a negative stereotype and dismissed the India Maria films as exploitation cinema unworthy of serious attention. By contrast, La India Maria builds a convincing case for Maria Elena Velasco as an artist whose work as a director and producer--rare for women in Mexican cinema--has been widely and unjustly overlooked. Drawing on extensive interviews with Velasco, her family, and film industry professionals, as well as on archival research, Seraina Rohrer offers the first full account of Velasco's life; her portrayal of La India Maria in vaudeville, television, and sixteen feature film comedies, including Ni de aqui, ni de alla [Neither here, nor there]; and her controversial reception in Mexico and the United States. Rohrer traces the films' financing, production, and distribution, as well as censorship practices of the period, and compares them to other Mexploitation films produced at the same time. Adding a new chapter to the history of a much-understudied period of Mexican cinema commonly referred to as "la crisis," this pioneering research enriches our appreciation of Mexploitation films.
- Series Statement
- Film, media, and popular culture : Latin America, gender & sexuality
- Subject
- Velasco, María Elena
- Exploitation films > Mexico > History and criticism
- Sensationalism in motion pictures
- Low budget films > Mexico > History and criticism
- Women motion picture producers and directors > Mexico
- Women in motion pictures
- Motion pictures > Social aspects > Mexico
- PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism
- SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / Hispanic American Studies
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-207), filmography (pages 179-181), and index.
- Contents
- Introduction -- La India María : from Vaudeville to the big screen -- Mexploitation -- Box-office moneymakers and small-screen hits -- Hated by critics, loved by the people -- Crossing borders : India María's diaspora -- Epilogue : India María and Mexploitation today -- Overview of India María films.
- Call Number
- MWES (Velasco, M.) 18-1522
- ISBN
- 9781477313442
- 1477313443
- 9781477313459
- 1477313451
- LCCN
- 2016058955
- OCLC
- 968245688
- Author
- Rohrer, Seraina, 1977- author.
- Title
- La India María : Mexploitation and the films of María Elena Velasco / Seraina Rohrer.
- Publisher
- Austin, TX : University of Texas Press, 2017.
- Copyright Date
- ©2017
- Edition
- First edition.
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Series
- Film, media, and popular culture : Latin America, gender & sexuality
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-207), filmography (pages 179-181), and index.
- Sudoc No.
- Z UA380.8 R636in txdocs
- Research Call Number
- MWES (Velasco, M.) 18-1522