Dolores del Río and Lupe Vélez: Working in Hollywood, 1924-1944

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This article focuses on Dolores del Río and Lupe Vélez, contextualing their film careers in relation to their reception by their audiences. It focuses on how, despite their generally opposite media representations and personas, they had much in common because they functioned within very similar political-economic contexts. Contributing to their commonalities was the film industry's role in casting and representing them in a manner that reflected the hyper-sexuality attributed to Latinas, but in a "palatable" -for the times- way. Despite different career paths, both were personally involved in transnational circuits, confronted issues of work autonomy, accommodation, resistance and control, and were pressured to play to Hollywood stereotypes and to "represent" their communities. The author 's analysis is based on an examination of primary materials dating from 1924 to 1934, and relevant period and contemporary readings and web sources. The article underlines the relevance of their lives to contemporary Latina/o actors.