María Luisa Algarra facts for kids

María Luisa Algarra (born in Barcelona in 1916 – died in Mexico City in 1957) was a Spanish writer. She wrote plays and lived in Mexico after the Spanish Civil War and World War II. She was known for her plays.

Life Story

María Luisa Algarra went to local schools first. Then, she studied at the University Autonomous of Barcelona. She earned her law degree when she was 20 years old. This was quite unusual for a woman at that time.

She moved to France when the Spanish Civil War ended (1936–1939). During World War II, she helped the resistance movement. Because of this, she was held in the Vernet camp for three years.

After she was released, she left Europe. She moved to Mexico to live there permanently. In Mexico, she met José Reyes Mesa, a famous painter. They got married and had two daughters, Reyes and Fernanda.

María Luisa was also good friends with Emilio Carballido. He was a Mexican playwright, like her. He described Algarra as "astonishing," "attractive," and "very tall." She passed away in 1957 when she was 41 years old.

Her Work

Algarra was most famous for writing plays. But she also wrote scripts for movies and television shows. She even wrote stories for radio. She found the most financial success in the film industry.

Besides her own original stories, she also adapted famous works for the theater. She adapted La Cueva de Salamanca by Cervantes. She also adapted La verdad sospechosa by Juan Ruiz.

Many of her plays were performed during her lifetime. However, her written plays were not published until after she died. Some of her plays appeared in different theater magazines. A full collection of her plays was published in 2008. This was done by a Mexican publishing house called Universidad Veracruz.

Her plays often featured a main female character. They explored many different topics. These included the role of women in society and family problems. She also wrote about friendship, living in exile, and love. Algarra often looked at these ideas from a psychological point of view. Some of her works focused on issues specific to Mexico. Others were about her own experiences living in exile. But many of her plays dealt with problems that everyone can understand.

Published Plays

• Judith (1936)
• Primavera inútil (1944)
• Sombra de alas (late 1940s)
• Una passion violenta (early 1950s)
• Casandra o la llave sin puerta (1953)
• Los años de prueba (1954)

Movie Scripts

• Échame la culpa (1959) (story)
• La venenosa (1959) (writer)
• Amor se dice cantando (1959) (screenplay) (story)
• Los santos reyes (1959) (story)
• Aladino y la lámpara maravillosa (1958) (writer) (also known as Aladdin and the Marvelous Lamp)
• Las mil y una noches (1958) (dialogue) (also known as A Thousand and One Nights)
• Refifí entre las mujeres (1958) (story) (as Ma. Luisa Algarra)
• Escuela para suegras (1958) (story) (also known as School for Mothers-in-Law)
• La sombra del otro (1957) (dialogue)
• La mujer marcada (1957) (story)
• Mal de amores (Rogaciano el huapanguero) (1957) (additional dialogue)
• Que me toquen las golondrinas (1957) (writer) (also known as La despedida)
• Las aventuras de Pito Pérez (1957) (additional dialogue) (also known as The Adventures of Pito Perez)
• Tú y las nubes (1955) (story) (also known as Limosna de amores)
• Nosotros dos (1955) (screenplay) (story) (also known as We Two)
• La posesión (1950) (writer)
• Encadenada (El yugo) (1947) (additional dialogue) (also known as Encadenado)

See also

In Spanish: María Luisa Algarra para niños