Popular Mexican actor Héctor Suárez, possessor of a fruitful and successful film career that ran from the late 1960s through to the beginning of the 80s - before becoming one of the most iconic comedians of Mexican television - died yesterday at the age of eighty-one of cancer.
Born in Mexico City on October 21, 1938, Suárez started acting in theater alongside Chilean-born actor and director Alejandro Jodorowsky. His first major film role was in the 1965 Mexican western The Curse of Gold / La maldición del oro by Jaime Salvador and Tito Novaro. He participated in numerous films throughout the decade, including the 1969 Patsy, mi amor by Manuel Michel. Heavily-influenced by the French New Wave, the film was written by renowned writer Gabriel García Márquez and follows a contemporary-minded young woman who falls in love with a much older, but still virile, man who introduces her to a whole world of new adventures.
In 1972 Suárez participated in Luis Alcoriza’s National Mechanics / Mecánica nacional in one of his most iconic cinematic roles as Goyo, an auto repair shop owner who goes with his family and friends to a car race, and what should have been a party ends up in tragedy when his mother passes away. Suárez earned an Ariel Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film.
That same year, Suárez worked with renowned Mexican filmmaker Roberto Gavaldón in the black comedy Doña Macabra, in the role of Othón Quiñonez. Also starring Marga López and Carmen Montejo, the film tells the story of two elderly women and an eccentric brother who are dedicated to using witchcraft to find treasure hidden in their home.
A few years later, Suárez starred in México, México, ra ra ra (1976), the directorial debut of producer Gustavo Alatriste (Viridiana), a mordant social critique that had a deep influence on Suárez’s career - satirizing Mexico’s growing social and economic problems and providing biting social commentary on the country’s decaying politics.
In 1981, Suárez participated in Raúl Araiza’s Lagunilla, mi barrio, in the role of “El tirantes.” The popular film, chronicling life in Mexico City’s downtown neighborhood of La Lagunilla, became a symbol of urban culture and spurred the sequel Lagunilla 2 (directed by Abel Salazar), the following year.
One year later, Suárez played the title role in Roberto G. Rivera’s 1983 drama El Mil usos, which became another one of his iconic performances. The film follows the tragic adventures of Tránsito Pérez aka “El Mil usos,” an illiterate man who leaves his family and hometown and migrates to Mexico City to try and make a living. The film was a mordant when the megalopolis was vastly spreading, and was a big hit at the box office that inspired a sequel in 1984.
In 1988, Suárez made his directorial debut with El No Hay, the big screen version of the popular character that he created for his iconic eighties comedy show, ¿Qué nos pasa? More recent film credits include Gustavo Loza’s Never Too Young to Dream / Atlético San Pancho (2001) and Al otro lado (2004), Rafael Gutiérrez and Elisa Salinas’ Mujer alabastrina (2006), and Francisco Javier Padilla’s Suave Patria (2012). His last film role was in last year’s comedy Mentada de padre by Fernando Rovzar, about a wealthy father who makes his four sons compete to get his money and properties. The movie became one of the top grossing films of 2019.
