Ignacio López Tarso facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ignacio López Tarso
Tarso in 2015
Born	Ignacio López López (1925-01-15)15 January 1925 Mexico City, Mexico
Died	11 March 2023(2023-03-11) (aged 98) Mexico City, Mexico
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1940–2023
Spouse(s)	Clara Aranda
Children	3 (including Juan Ignacio Aranda)
Parents	Alfonso López Bermúdez (father) Ignacia López Herrera (mother)
Relatives	Alfonso López López (brother) Marta López López (sister)
Awards	Many awards

Ignacio López Tarso (born Ignacio López López; January 15, 1925 – March 11, 2023) was a famous Mexican actor. He starred in many plays, movies, and TV shows. He made about 50 films and appeared in documentaries.

Ignacio López Tarso won important awards for his acting. In 1973, he received the Ariel Award for Best Actor. In 2007, he got the Ariel de Oro for his amazing work over his lifetime. He also won many TVyNovelas Awards. He was one of the last big stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. This was a special time when Mexican movies became very popular.

About Ignacio López Tarso's Life

Growing Up and Learning

Ignacio López Tarso was born in Mexico City. His parents, Alfonso López Bermúdez and Ignacia López Herrera, were cousins from Guanajuato. Because his dad's job moved a lot, Ignacio lived in many different cities. These included Veracruz, Hermosillo, Navojoa, and Guadalajara. He had two siblings, Alfonso and Marta.

When he was about 8 or 9, in Guadalajara, his parents took him to a play. This is when he first became interested in acting. Later, he went to secondary school in Valle de Bravo, Estado de México. His family had money problems, so he couldn't go to high school. But he joined special schools called seminaries to keep learning. While there, he acted in plays organized by a visiting priest. He learned to read and perform classic plays.

When he was 20, he joined the military for about a year. He served in different cities and became a First Sergeant. He liked the discipline, but he decided not to go to military school. After the military, he worked as a sales agent in Mexico City. He wanted to work in the United States. But he got hurt falling from a tree and had to return to Mexico City for a year of therapy.

Starting in Theatre

Tarso (with wig) during a play in August 2019

During his recovery, Ignacio read many books about poetry and theatre. He became a big fan of the writer Xavier Villaurrutia. After he got better, he heard Villaurrutia was teaching theatre. Ignacio went to meet him and ended up joining the theatre academy at age 24.

His teacher, Villaurrutia, told him to choose a stage name. So, Ignacio López López became Ignacio López Tarso. "Tarso" came from Paul the Apostle's hometown, Tarsus. It was also the name of a city in Mexico where Ignacio had lived. He learned from many great teachers at the academy.

Ignacio López Tarso first acted professionally in 1951. It was in a play called Born Yesterday. He also performed in many plays by William Shakespeare, like A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth. He acted in over a hundred plays during his career. Most of his theatre work was in serious dramas. But in 2014 and 2015, he starred in a comedy called Aeroplanos ("Airplanes").

Becoming a Film Star

Ignacio López Tarso's first movie role was in 1954 in La desconocida. He played a small part.

One of his most famous roles was in the 1960 film Macario. This movie was a supernatural story set during the Day of the Dead. It was shown at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival. Macario was also the first Mexican film to be nominated for an Academy Award in 1961. Ignacio won an award for Best Actor for Macario at the San Francisco International Film Festival. He won another award in 1963 for his work in El hombre de papel (The Paper Man).

Tarso in 1986

In 1961, he starred in Rosa Blanca. This film was not released until 1972 because of political reasons. He won the Ariel Award for Best Actor for this movie in 1973. Other important movies he acted in include Cri Cri, el grillito cantor (1963) and The prophet Mimi (1972).

Ignacio López Tarso acted in over fifty films. He worked with many other famous actors from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. These included Dolores del Río and María Félix. Besides movies, he appeared in more than twenty TV series. He also released eight music albums where he recited poems and sang corridos (story songs) about the Mexican Revolution.

He also held positions in groups related to acting and movies. From 1988 to 1991, he served as a federal deputy. This meant he was a representative in the Mexican government for Mexico City.

Ignacio López Tarso's Family and Later Life

Ignacio López Tarso was married to Clara Aranda, who passed away in 2000. They had three children: Susana, Gabriela, and Juan Ignacio Aranda, who also became an actor.

In 2016, he had surgery for a tumor in his large intestine. He was in intensive care for a while. In March 2023, he was hospitalized for pneumonia and an intestinal problem. Ignacio López Tarso passed away in Mexico City on March 11, 2023, at the age of 98.

Awards and Recognitions

Tarso holding a recognition paper in a homage done for him by the Mexico City Government in 2015

Ignacio López Tarso won many awards in Mexico and other countries. Some of his awards include:

• Golden Gate Award (San Francisco International Film Festival 1960, United States) for Best Actor in Macario.
• Golden Gate Award (San Francisco International Film Festival 1963, United States) for Best Actor in The Paper Man.
• Ariel Award (Mexican Academy of Film, 1973, Mexico) for Best Actor in Rosa Blanca.
• Association of Latin Entertainment Critics Award (2001, United States).
• Hispanic Heritage Society Award (2006, United States).
• Ariel de Oro (Mexican Academy of Film, 2007, Mexico) for his lifetime achievements in film.
• TVyNovelas Awards (Mexican Award 2011, Mexico) for his lifetime achievements on stage.

Premios Ariel

TVyNovelas Awards

Movies and TV Shows

Films

Television

Tarso in 2019

See also

In Spanish: Ignacio López Tarso para niños