Catalina Bárcena facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catalina Bárcena
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ca. 1925
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| Born | 10 December 1888 |
| Died | 3 August 1978 (aged 89) |
| Occupation | actress |
| Spouse(s) | Ricardo Vargas |
| Children | 1. Fernando Vargas 2. Katia |
Catalina Bárcena (born December 10, 1888 – died August 3, 1978) was a famous Spanish theater actress. She was very popular in the early 1900s.
Catalina worked with Gregorio Martínez Sierra to create the special Teatro de arte company. This was at Madrid's Teatro Eslava from 1916 to 1926. Later, she also starred in other big theater groups. In the 1930s, she even became a film actress in Hollywood. Besides acting, she was also known for her great sense of fashion.
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Early Life and Theater Start
Catalina Bárcena was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba. Her parents were farmers who had moved from Spain. In 1898, Cuba became independent from Spain. This happened with help from the United States of America. Around 1900, Catalina's family moved back to their old village. It was called Santa María (Lebeña) in the mountains of northern Spain.
When she was 20, Catalina moved to Madrid. There, she started her acting career. She joined the theater company of María Guerrero. Catalina performed in many new plays. These included "El genio alegre" (1906) and "Amores y amoríos" (1908). Both were by the Quintero brothers. She also acted in "La araña" (1908) by Àngel Guimerà. Other plays were "Las hijas del Cid" (1908) and "Doña María la Brava" (1909). She also performed in "En Flandes se ha puesto el sol" (1910). These last three plays were by Eduardo Marquina. Catalina was also in the first show of "La fuente amarga" (1910) by Manuel Linares Rivas.
Forming Her Own Company
Soon after, Catalina Bárcena started her own theater company. She performed in more new plays. These included "La losa de los sueños" (1911) by Jacinto Benavente. Another was "Flor de los pazos" (1912) by Rivas. From 1916, her biggest successes were at Madrid's Teatro Eslava. Here, she premiered plays like "No te ofendas, Beatriz" (1920). She also starred in "Chica del gato" (1921). Both of these plays were by Carlos Arniches.
By 1916, Bárcena began working closely with Gregorio Martínez Sierra. He was a writer, publisher, and theater director. Their partnership was both professional and personal. Martínez Sierra was known as a forward-thinking writer. This was important because many other writers at the time were not very adventurous. Martínez Sierra was married to María Lejárraga. She was a writer and activist. Many believed she helped him write his plays.
Catalina Bárcena brought more plays by Martínez Sierra to the Madrid stage. She also performed works by Benito Pérez Galdós and Jacinto Benavente. Martínez Sierra also translated important foreign plays. Catalina starred in these, like Ibsen's "Doll's House" (1917). She also performed in Shaw's "Pygmalion" (1920). Their partnership also led to many new plays by younger Spanish writers in the 1920s. One famous play was "El maleficio de la mariposa". This was the first play by Federico García Lorca. The costumes for this show were designed by Rafael Barradas. As early as 1916, Bárcena and Martínez Sierra also worked on pantomime. This was a new popular type of show that mixed music and spoken theater.
South American Tour and Hollywood Films
In 1922, Catalina had a daughter named Katia. To avoid public attention, she decided to go on a long tour of South America in 1926. Her clothes and costumes were very important to her. Her wardrobe assistant, Antonia García, traveled with her. The South American tour lasted three years. This shows that theater audiences liked her performances.
When she returned to Madrid, the theater business was facing problems. The film industry was also changing. Silent movies were becoming "talkies" (movies with sound). Catalina had always said she would not work in cinema. But in California, big Hollywood studios needed actors who could speak well. Many silent movie stars did not have good voices for the new sound films. In 1927, she signed with Fox. She starred in several Spanish-language movies. These included "Canción de cuna" and "The Merry Widow." However, her Hollywood roles became fewer in the late 1930s. Younger Spanish-speaking stars started to appear.
Life During the Spanish Civil War
During the Spanish Civil War, Catalina chose to leave Spain. She went with her sister, María Luisa de la Cotera. María Luisa was married to a ship's captain from Catalonia. His father was an important person in Barcelona's port and industry. Because of these connections, they were able to leave Spain. Catalina's partner, Gregorio Martínez Sierra, also went with them. They arrived in Oran and settled in Tétouan in 1936. Morocco was safer than Spain during the war.
However, Catalina and Martínez Sierra did not stay long with her sister's family. They traveled to Marseilles, Paris, and Buenos Aires. They stayed in Buenos Aires for almost ten years. They only returned to Madrid in 1947. By this time, Martínez Sierra was very ill. He died a few weeks after they came back.
Later Career and Legacy
Catalina Bárcena was getting close to retirement age. She did not become as famous as she was before the war. But she still worked actively in theater. In 1948, she started a new comedy theater company. She was the main actress. The company first performed at the Madrid Comedy Theatre. They put on "Pygmalion." In 1949, they performed another play called "Fifty Years of Happiness." In 1954, they presented "Leyenda de una vida" at the city's Teatro Infanta Isabel.
In 1971 or 1972, she received the National Theatre Prize. Catalina Bárcena passed away in 1978. Lorca, a famous writer, wrote a special poem for her. He remembered her voice as sounding "like music and crystal."
Personal Life
Catalina Bárcena married Ricardo Vargas, an actor. They later separated and divorced in 1932. Catalina had two children: a son named Fernando and a daughter named Katia.
See also
In Spanish: Catalina Bárcena para niños
