Celebrity Biographies
Argentine Empire
With Imperio Argentina one of the most illustrious characters in the history of Spanish cinema disappears. The actress and singer died on August 23, at her home in Benalmádena (Málaga), at the age of 92. Of all our stars, she was the one who came closest to the glamor of the greats of Hollywood.
The daughter of Spanish artists, Magdalena Nile del Río was born in Buenos Aires, during a tour of her parents, on December 26, 1910. During her childhood she lived in Málaga, where she learned to dance. She made her theater debut in her hometown, with one of our great folkloric artists, Pastora Imperio , who called her “Petit Imperio”. This became her stage name early in her career. When she returned to Spain, she married Florián Rey , one of our most illustrious filmmakers of the time, and the Nobel Prize winner Jacinto Benavente . suggested that she change her name to Imperio Argentina.
After making her debut on the Spanish stage in 1924, she made her fortune on the big screen, filming La hermana de San Sulpicio , one of the great successes of Spanish silent cinema, under the orders of her husband. She revalidated her success in sound, thanks to her songs, in musical films such as El profesor de mi mujer , La casa es seria and Melodía de Arrabal . In these last two titles, she shared the screen with Carlos Gardel, becoming the only woman who has sung a duet with the legendary artist. “Although she was fascinated by women, she did not like to sing with them,” Imperio Argentina clarified in an interview.Baturra nobility andMorena Clara , both directed by her husband, made her very popular in our country, where her records were also all the rage.
In 1938 he went to Nazi Germany to shoot an ambitious Spanish-German co-production: Carmen la de Triana , also shot in the German language under the title Andalusische Nächte (Andalusian Nights ). During her stay she had the opportunity to meet Adolf Hitler himself, who according to Imperio Argentina declared his love for her, although she decided to give him pumpkins. This episode inspired the film by Fernando TruebaThe apple of your eyes .
Although in the 40s he was still a great star, with great successes such as Tosca , and La copla de la Dolores , he gradually left the cinema. She returned long after her, in 1986, by the hand of José Luis Borau , who made her the protagonist ofTata Mia . The following year she shot her latest work, El polizón de Ulises , by Javier Aguirre . The last years of his life were spent in the Malaga municipality of Benalmádena.