La mujer de nadie
Nobody’s Wife
Adela Sequeyro
The young Ana María is forced to flee her brutal stepfather and leave home. She finds shelter with three artistic friends. The poet Leonardo, the painter Marcelo and the musician Rodolfo all fall in love with this independent woman and let her inspire their work. Ana María is in love with Marcelo but does not want to jeopardise the men’s friendship. Finally, she leaves all three of them and goes her own way.
Nobody’s Wife was the first-ever talkie in Mexico to be directed by a woman. Film pioneer Adela Sequeyro herself plays the role of the young self-aware Ana María and was also responsible for production in collaboration with her husband. The critics praised the film (which was premiered at the Belmolri Cinema in Mexico City on 27 October 1937) for its accurate dialogue, humour and excellent camerawork. Along with the two other films where Sequeyro took charge of direction, screenplay and production, Nobody’s Wife was deemed lost for many years. Thanks to their rediscovery, a new evaluation of her work has been made possible.
Adela Sequeyro
Born 1901 in Veracruz, Sequeyro started to work as a journalist in Mexico City early on. In the 1920s, she made her first appearances as an actress in several silent films. She would later take on roles in her own films too. Her screen debut in 1923 came with José S. Ortiz’ film El hijo de la loca. After a renewed phase working as a journalist, during which she met important creative artists such as painter and director Adolfo Best Maugard, the development of talkies saw her return to film. As the result of her application being rejected by a film industry employees union, she founded her first production company in 1935 and made Más allá de la muerte. Following bankruptcy, she started up another production company with her husband in 1937. After only her third film, however, Adela Sequeyro ended her career in the film industry and resumed work as a journalist in the 1950s.
Films by Adela Sequeyro
Diablillos de arrabal 1938 | Más allá de la muerte 1935
