Amalia Aguilar: Afro Mood - 1940's

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Exotic burlesque dancer short from the forties, with a faux-Arabian theme. Perhaps something you would have seen in Havana after losing at the casino, pre-Castro. Staring Amalia Aguilar.

Amalia Aguilar is a Cuban and Mexican film actress and dancer of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was considered one of the icons of the Rumberas film.

She was born Amalia Rodriguez Carriera in Matanzas, Cuba. She started her career together with her sister Cecilia as "The Aguilar Sisters". The team travelled to many Latin American countries with a show of Cuban dances. The singer and producer Julio Richards discovered them in Panama and invited them to work in Mexico.

In Mexico, Amalia stood out as a dancer in the Teatro Lirico in Mexico City and attracted the attention of several filmmakers. She debuted in the film Pervertida (1945). In 1947, she work in Hollywood in the Joe DiMaggio's night club along stars like Bob Hope and Carmen Miranda, and filmed the musical movie A night in the Follies, with Evelyn West. Returned to Mexico in 1949. Her career in Mexico lasted over 10 years and she made 23 films with Mexican stars of the Golden Age including Tin Tan, Lilia Prado, Pedro Infante and Adalberto Martínez ("Resortes"). She was considered one of the Queens of the Rumberas film along with Maria Antonieta Pons, Meche Barba, Ninón Sevilla and Rosa Carmina. Amalia retired from the stardom in the 1970s. She returned in the 2000s as a special guest in some Mexican movies. In 2006, she was honored with the Mexican Silver Ariel for her career.