Bélgica Castro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bélgica Castro
Castro in November 2009
Born	Bélgica Castro Sierra (1921-03-06)6 March 1921 Concepción, Chile
Died	6 March 2020(2020-03-06) (aged 99) Santiago, Chile
Nationality	Chilean
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1939–2020
Spouse(s)	Domingo Tessier [es] (divorced) Alejandro Sieveking ​ ​ (m. 1961; died 2020)​
Children	Leonardo Mihovilovic
Awards	National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts (1995) Altazor Award (2008, 2009, 2013)

Bélgica Castro Sierra (born March 6, 1921 – died March 6, 2020) was a famous Chilean actress. She performed in plays, movies, and TV shows.

During her long career, she acted in over 100 plays. She also appeared in many Chilean films. These included Hollywood es así [es] (1944) and The Good Life (2008). She also played a Russian scientist in Chile puede (2008). For this role, she won the Paoa Award for Best National Lead Actress. She also received the APES Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1995, she won the important National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts.

Who Was Bélgica Castro?

Bélgica Castro was born in Concepción, Chile. Her parents were from Spain. She studied in Temuco before moving to Santiago in 1940. There, she studied Spanish at the Pedagogical Institute [es]. She joined a theater group called Cadip.

Starting a Theater Career

In 1941, Bélgica Castro helped start the Experimental Theater of the University of Chile [es]. She worked with other young artists, including Pedro de la Barra. In 1949, she worked for the BBC in London for a year.

Later, she and Alejandro Sieveking started their own theater company called El Teatro del Ángel. From 1974 to 1984, they lived in Costa Rica. They had great success there with their theater company.

Teaching and Inspiring Others

Bélgica Castro was also a teacher. She taught theater history at the University of Chile's Theater School for 14 years. She also taught acting at the Catholic University of Chile. In Costa Rica, she taught at the University of Costa Rica. She helped many young actors learn their craft.

Awards and Achievements

Bélgica Castro received many awards for her amazing work.

• In 1995, she won the National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts. This is a very high honor in Chile.
• In 2001, she got the APES Award for her long and successful career.
• She won the Altazor Award for Best Actress in Film in 2008 for La vida me mata [es].
• In 2009, she won another Altazor Award for The Good Life.
• In 2013, she won two more Altazor Awards. One was for Best Theater Actress in Todo pasajero debe descender. The other was for Best Film Actress in Old Cats.

Her Work in Movies and TV

Bélgica Castro acted in many Chilean films. Some of her notable movies include:

• Hollywood es así [es] (1944)
• Little White Dove (1973)
• Days in the Country (2004)
• Chile puede (2008)
• The Good Life (2008)
• Old Cats (2010)

For her role in Old Cats, she won the Best Actress award at the 16th Festivalisimo. This is a film festival in Montreal.

Bélgica Castro passed away on March 6, 2020. This was her 99th birthday. Her husband, Alejandro Sieveking, had passed away just one day before.

Filmography

Film Roles

• Hollywood es así [es] (1944)
• El final del juego (1970)
• Little White Dove (1973) – Grandmother
• Sin ceder (1998)
• El hombre que imaginaba [es] (1998)
• El desquite [es] (1999) – Margarita
• Days in the Country (2004) – Paulita
• La vida me mata [es] (2007)
• Chile puede (2008)
• The Good Life (2008)
• Old Cats (2010) – Isidora
• Viejos amores (2016) – Herself

Television Roles

• Juani en Sociedad [es]
• La sal del desierto [es] (1972) – Eduviges
• La Recta Provincia (2007) – Rosalba
• Litoral (2008) – Señora

Awards and Honors

Bélgica Castro received many awards throughout her career.

APES Awards

Altazor Awards

Other Important Awards

• 1995, National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts
• 1999, Rectoral Distinction Medal of the University of Chile
• 2002, Professor Pedro de la Barra Distinction Medal of Cultural Merit
• 2008, Viña del Mar International Film Festival Paoa Award
• 2010, Pedro Sienna Award for Best Lead Actress in Old Cats
• 2015, UMCE Armando Rubio Culture Prize
• 2016, La Serena Film Festival [es] Award for Best National Career
• 2016, Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit
• 2017, Distinguished Public Person Medal from the Municipality of Providencia

See also

In Spanish: Bélgica Castro para niños