The Cuban actor and filmmaker Jorge Perugorría paid tribute to actress Adela Legrá, one of the most iconic figures in Cuban cinema, who passed away this Friday, January 2, in Santiago de Cuba, at the age of 86.
Through his Instagram account, Perugorría shared snippets from the film Miel para Oshún (2001), directed by Humberto Solás, in which they both appeared on screen together.
"I had the great opportunity to share the screen in this film with Adela Legrá, under the direction of Humberto Solás, who immortalized her with the character of Lucía (1968), turning her face into an emblem of Cuban cinema," wrote the actor. "Rest in peace, dear Adela," he added.
Adela Legrá was discovered by Solás while she was working as an activist for the Federation of Cuban Women in Baracoa.
Her naturalness in front of the camera led her to star in Manuela (1965) and later Lucía (1968), a film that marked a turning point in the history of Cuban and Latin American cinema.
In Lucía, Legrá embodied a peasant woman who symbolized female emancipation in the early years of the Revolution, a role that made her a cultural reference and an icon of Cuban womanhood.
Throughout his career, he participated in landmark titles such as Rancheador (1976), El Brigadista (1977), Polvo Rojo (1981), Miel para Oshún (2001), and Barrio Cuba (2005), as well as ventures into television.
Due to her career, she received numerous awards, including the Lucía de Honor Award at the International Poor Film Festival of Gibara in 2017, a distinction she shared with fellow actress Eslinda Núñez and Solás' family.
On that occasion, Legrá thanked Perugorría, the president of the event, for keeping the filmmaker's legacy alive.
The passing of Legrá has prompted numerous expressions of sorrow among figures in Cuban art.
The film critic Juan Antonio García remembered her as "a simple, natural, and radiant woman, whose face has been forever etched in the history of Cuban cinema."
With her farewell, Jorge Perugorría once again highlights the greatness of a self-taught actress who became a symbol of Cuban auteur cinema and of the feminine sensitivity depicted by Humberto Solás.
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