Mexican cinema icon Silvia Pinal passed away today in Mexico City due to age-related health complications. Conflicting reports list her age as either 93 or 94. A legendary figure of Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema, Pinal also achieved great success in theater and television, becoming an international star through her artistic collaboration with director Luis Buñuel, most notably as the lead in Viridiana (1961), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Born Silvia Verónica Pasquel Hidalgo—later adopting her stepfather Luis Pinal's surname—in Guaymas, Sonora, in 1930 or 1931 (sources vary), she made her film debut in 1949 in Miguel Contreras Torres’ drama Bamba She quickly rose to prominence, acting alongside legends like Pedro Infante, Tin Tán, and Cantinflas in hits such as El rey del barrio (1950), La marca del zorrillo (1950), El portero (1950), Un rincón cerca del cielo (1952), and El inocente (1956).
In 1953, Pinal signed an exclusive contract with FILMEX studios, owned by top producer Gregorio Wallerstein, which led to leading roles in films such as Reventa de esclavas (1953), Yo soy muy macho (1953), Un extraño en la escalera (1954), La sospechosa (1955), and Locura pasional (1956). In 1958, she starred as Soledad in Una cita de amor, directed by acclaimed director Emilio Fernández. That same year, she filmed Las locuras de Bárbara in Spain, followed by the Spanish musical Charlestón a year later. Due to her popularity in Spain, she was invited to star in the Italian comedy Uomini e nobiluomini (1959) opposite Vittorio De Sica. Other Spanish films she appeared in include Maribel y la extraña familia (1960) and Adiós, Mimí Pompom, co-starring Fernando Fernán Gómez.
With a desire to work with Luis Buñuel, and with the help of her second husband, Pinal convinced the director to helm and cast her in Viridiana, marking his return to shoot in Spain. Co-starring Francisco Rabal and Fernando Rey, the film tells the story of a young nun who is about to take her vows when she is sent to visit her elderly uncle, Don Jaime. The uncle becomes fixated on her, seeing in her a striking resemblance to his late wife. Meanwhile, Viridiana harbors a deep mistrust of him, and her worst suspicions are confirmed when he becomes obsessed with corrupting her innocence, unraveling her resolve to join the convent.
The film premiered at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, where it became the first Spanish-language film to win the Palme d’Or for Best Film. However, it was banned in Francoist Spain and condemned by the Catholic Church for its critique of religion. Viridiana has since been celebrated as one of the greatest films of all time, appearing on numerous "best of" lists, including Sight & Sound's prestigious poll.
Following the success of Viridiana, Pinal reunited with Buñuel for The Exterminating Angel / El ángel exterminador (1962), a surrealist comedy about a group of bourgeois guests at an extravagant dinner party who find themselves inexplicably unable to leave, sparking escalating chaos. The film premiered at Cannes, where it won the FIPRESCI critics’ prize, and was selected as the opening film of the inaugural New York Film Festival in 1963. In 2004, The New York Times listed the film as one of the best of all time, and in 2016, it was adapted into an English-language opera by Thomas Adès.
“A friend of mine made a clever point that I should repeat here: that Buñuel invented reality shows with The Exterminating Angel,” she said in a 2006 Criterion Collection interview conducted by Cinema Tropical’s executive director Cinema Tropical. “What is [the film] if not a reality show about people who can’t leave that room?”
Pinal’s third and final collaboration with Buñuel was Simon of the Desert /Simón del desierto (1964), a project initially conceived as part of a three-segment omnibus film, with Pinal starring in all segments. However, the project fell apart when Federico Fellini and Jules Dassin insisted on casting their wives, Giulietta Masina and Melina Mercouri, in their respective segments. Only Buñuel’s segment was completed, resulting in a 43-minute medium-length film. The story follows Simón (Claudio Brook), a devout ascetic in the 4th century, who ascends a towering column to draw closer to God, while the Devil (Pinal) attempts to lure him back to earthly life.
It was reported that Pinal was initially set to star in Buñuel's next project, Diary of a Chambermaid, but despite her efforts to learn French, producer Serge Silberman ultimately cast Jeanne Moreau in the role of Célestine. Pinal continued her successful acting career in Mexican cinema through the 1960s and 1970s, with films such as Los cuervos están de luto (1965), La soldadera (1966), María Isabel (1968), 24 horas de placer (1969), El cuerpazo del delito (1970), Secreto de confesión (1971), ¡Cómo hay gente sinvergüenza! (1972), Las mariposas disecadas (1978), and Divinas palabras (1978).
In 1967, she starred in the Mexican-Brazilian co-production Juego peligroso, directed by Luis Alcoriza and Arturo Ripstein. That same year, she co-starred in Samuel Fuller’s Shark opposite Burt Reynolds, and a year later, she appeared alongside Anthony Quinn and Charles Bronson in the French-Italian spaghetti Western Guns for San Sebastian (La bataille de San Sebastian, 1968), directed by Henri Verneuil.
Pinal combined her film work with theater and television, producing and starring in Mexico’s first musical comedy, Ring, Ring llama el amor. As Mexican cinema began to decline in the 1980s, she shifted her focus more toward television and theater, producing numerous musical plays, soap operas, and the popular show Mujer, casos de la vida real. In the 1990s, she also served as a senator for the ruling party, Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). In 1992, Pinal returned to film in the drama Modelo antiguo, directed by Raúl Araiza, and her last film credit came in 2013 with the comedy Tercera llamada, directed by Francisco Franco.
Pinal won the Ariel Award three times: Best Supporting Actress in 1953 for Un rincón cerca del cielo, and Best Actress in 1957 and 1958 for Locura pasional and La dulce enemiga, respectively. In 2008, the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences awarded her a Special Golden Ariel for lifetime achievement.
Pinal is survived by her three children—actress Sylvia Pasquel, singer Alejandra Guzmán, and Luis Enrique Guzmán—along with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
