Julio Bracho

 

For more information : see the Bracho family tree

SELECTION

La mujer del puerto (The Woman of the Port) - Arcady Boytler - 1933
Historia de un gran amor (The Story of a True Love) - Julio Bracho - 1942
Distinto amanecer (New Awakening) - Julio Bracho) - 1943
La mujer de todos (Everyone's Wiife) - Julio Bracho - 1946
Aventurera (Adventurer) - Alberto Gout - 1949
La sombra del caudillo (The Shadow of the Caudillo) - Julio Bracho - 1960
Tlayucan - Luis Alcoriza - 1961
Castillo de la pureza (The Castle of Purity) - Arturo Ripstein - 1972
Redondo - Raul Busteros - 1984
¿Qué me va a hacer ? (What Are You Goinig to Do to Me ?) - Alejandra Cordero Leon - 2001
¿Francisca desde que lado estas ? (Francisca, Which Side are You on?) - Eva Lopez Sanchez - 2002

 

THREE GENERATIONS OF MEXICAN CINEMA : A TRIBUTE TO THE BRACHO FAMILY

 

The Bracho family is an icon of the Mexican cinema. Born in Durango in the early 20th century, three of the Bracho brothers and sisters, Guadalupe, Julio and Jesús, worked in film. Many years later, two descendants of Julio, his daughter Diana and his grandson Julio, carry on the film legend.

From a very young age, Guadalupe Bracho learnt how to make hats and worked in London at the La Ciudad shop. Towards 1927, she opened her own shop, Casa Andrea. Introduced in the theatre world through her profession, Guadalupe, who loved acting, made her debut as an actress in Maya, a play staged at the Arbeu theatre, substituting for actress Isabela Corona. Later, her experience as a milliner led her to make exclusive hats for Marlene Dietrich. From then on, Guadalupe concentrated on acting and became, with her first film "The Woman of the Port" (La Mujer del puerto), the first Mexican film star as Andrea Palma.

Andrea's two younger brothers, Julio and Jesús Bracho, were respectively a distinguished director and an art director. Jesús was trained by Manuel Fontanals, the most famous Mexican art director. The films designed by Jesús Bracho include Fernando de Fuentes' "Doña Bárbara", Luis Alcoriza's "The Shark Hunters" (Tiburoneros) and "Tlayucan", Luis Buñuel's "The Exterminating Angel" (El Ángel exterminador) and "The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de La Cruz" (Ensayo de un crimen). He also created the sets for "Cantaclaro", "La Cobarde", "História de un corazón", "Inmaculada", "Llévame en tus brazos", "María la voz", "La Mujer de todos", "Women Who Work" (Mujeres que trabajan), "Stolen Paradise" (Paraíso robado), "Rosenda", "San Felipe de Jesús" and "La Sombra del caudillo", all directed by his brother Julio Bracho who introduced revolutionary changes in Mexican theatre in the thirties and who was one of the most prestigious film-makers of the golden age of Mexican cinema. His films are notable for their aesthetic qualities (including the close-ups of stars' faces), a personal touch and recurring themes: the presence of trains in "Distinto amanecer", "Rosenda", "Rostros olvidados", "Paraíso robado"; the corruption of trade unions in "Distinto amanecer", "Llévame en tus brazos" and "Espejismo de la ciudad"; and the use of various music genres, as Julio Bracho was a great music lover.

After studying philosophy and literature in New York, Julio's daughter, Diana Bracho, decided to try her luck at acting. In 1973, she was taking part in an acting workshop with José Luis Ibáñez when Arturo Ripstein asked Diana to feature in El Castillo de la pureza.

Then she worked with the greatest film-makers of the seventies, in Ripstein's "El Santo Oficio", Jaime Humberto Hermosillo's "El Cumpleaños del perro", Miguel Littin's "Actas de Marusia" and Felipe Cazals' "Las Poquianchis", among many others. She became one of the most popular faces of the time. Later, Diana Bracho was the first Mexican stage actress to chair the Mexican Academy of Motion Picture Science and Art, for two consecutive terms.
Recently, Diana's nephew, Julio, son of her brother Jorge, also turned to acting and was remarkable in films like Eva López Sánchez's "¿Francisca, de qué lado estás?" and Alfonso Arau's "Zapata", as well as in a few short films. He perpetuates the Bracho film dynasty.

Jesús Ibarra

 

Cinema is often considered to be a family affair. Perhaps it all started with the Lumière brothers.
A "film couple" is born out of a certain logic, an encounter which might lead to more... Most of the time it concerns directors and actresses, but sometimes, it also has to do with male and female directors. The relationship probably finds its roots in the circumstances.
We could mention the Varda-Demy, Bergman-Rossellini, Minnelli-Garland couples, as well as their offspring, Mathieu, Isabella, Lisa, and fathers and sons (or daughters) - Chaplin, Depardieu, Stévenin and others.
Brothers and sisters work together less often, except, for example, for Francis and John Ford, the famous Marx Brothers (four of them, initially), the just as famous Warner and Taviani brothers, the lesser-known Kaufman brothers (one of them was Dziga Vertov), the Breillat, Poliakoff (Marina Vlady and Odile Versois), Dorléac (Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac), Bardot (Brigitte et Mijanou), Gish sisters... One was usually more famous than the other. Generally, not more than two generations are concerned.
Yet there is almost a unique case in world film history. Over three generations, the Bracho family has yielded some of the most famous actors, actresses, directors, set designers, from the silent days (with Ramon Novarro) to today (young actor Julio Bracho Jr., a famous Mexican telenovela star), and the golden age of Mexican cinema with director Julio Bracho, actresses Dolores del Rio and Andréa Palma, set designer Jesús Bracho and, more recently, Diana Bracho who made a brilliant debut with Arturo Ripstein.

Philippe Jalladeau