ESPERANZA IRIS: BIOGRAPHY - DUDAS - 2025

Esperanza Iris was a Mexican singer, starlet and actress. She is recognized as "the queen of the operata" and as "the empress of grace." She was born in Villahermosa, Tabasco, in 1884. She participated in important works of the time, reaching a large part of the country and some international tours.

He also participated in works such as Las campanas de Carrión, The fourth flat and The Merry Widow. In the biography written by Silvia Cherem, the tragic family life that Esperanza Iris endured is recounted. While the public acclaimed her in magazine works, Esperanza suffered great losses: three of her children died while she was alive.

Esperanza Iris in the play Domestic Life

Esperanza married the singer Paco Sierra. During their marriage there was the explosion of an airplane attributed to Sierra to collect insurance. In any case, Iris was an exceptional artist who, ahead of her time, knew how to win over the Mexican public.

Such was its renown that the Tabasco state theater was renamed "Esperanza Iris Theater" in its honor. In addition, she founded her own theater, the “Gran Teatro Esperanza Iris”. He died in November 1962 in Mexico City.

Biography

On March 30, 1884, María Esperanza Bofill Ferrer was born in the city of Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. She emigrated to Mexico City at a very early age and at age 9 she made her debut in the Austri y Palacios children's theater company.

There he participated in the play Las purchases del Correón, where he performed and sang for 5 years. From her first participation, both the public and the theatrical entrepreneurs discovered the prodigious artist. At age 12, she adopted the stage name Esperanza Iris, with which she would be recognized to this day.

International tour

In 1902 she was hired by the Teatro Principal to participate in the play Cuarta Plana. This work would be such a success that he managed to make a wonderful international tour. She toured much of Europe and America, where during her time in Brazil she obtained the nickname "queen of the operetta."

On the same tour, on her way through Spain, King Alfonso XIII decorated her after her visit. Already in 1910, continuing with her successes, she brought the play La viuda joyfully to Cuba, where she adopted a new pseudonym: "the empress of grace." In addition to the theatrical works, she filmed two films: Mater nostra and Noches de gloria.

In 1922, she was declared the favorite daughter of Mexico.

Theater in tribute to Esperanza Iris

In 1918 he managed to build his own theater in Mexico City, by the hand of the Mexican architect Federico E. Mariscal. He named it Gran Teatro Esperanza Iris, known as El Iris. The inauguration was attended by President Venustiano Carranza.

For some years this theater was known as the City Theater. However, during the government of Marcelo Ebrard it was renamed the Esperanza Iris Theater of the city. It was later named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

This theater is considered one of the most beautiful attractions in the Historic Center of Mexico City. It is located next to the Legislative Assembly of Mexico City.

It has a Neoclassical style and has a capacity for 1,344 people. It was the space where the greatest figures of the national and international theater performed.

In 1984, the theater suffered a fire and had to be restored in 1999, by the government of Mexico City. Later, the state theater of Tabasco was renamed the Esperanza Iris Theater, in homage to the artistic career of this artist.

Incident with Paco Sierra

After being widowed by her first husband Juan Palmer, an opera singer, Esperanza married Paco Sierra.

Francisco Sierra Cordero was a baritone singer 20 years younger than Esperanza Iris. They met through the theater, as Sierra works for Esperanza's company in their theater.

In 1952 Paco Sierra and Emilio Arellano, an engineer for the Mexican Aviation Company, were accused of blowing up an airplane. It is considered that they were the cause of the incident of the flight of the Mexican airline.

Sierra and Arellano's plan

Sierra and Arellano carried out an elaborate plan. They posted a job offer ad with a great salary, lots of benefits, and simple jobs. They quickly hired five employees and Arellano included his uncle.

Both insured the employees with life insurance of 2 million Mexican pesos, in the name of Sierra and relatives. Arellano built a homemade bomb that he packed in a leather suitcase and gave it to his uncle before boarding the plane.

On September 24, 1952, the plane took off with delays, causing the bomb to explode at a low altitude. The pilot was able to maneuver for an emergency landing at the Santa Lucia military airport.

A single passenger died in the explosion, expelled through the hole produced by the bomb. The day after the incident, Sierra and Arellano were arrested.

Sentence

Esperanza always trusted in the innocence of Paco Sierra. They argued that they had been victims of fraud by Arellano. However, it was attested that Sierra accompanied Arellano in the purchase of explosives for the bomb.

The sentence for Paco Sierra was 9 years in prison. Arellano, on the other hand, received a 30-year prison sentence.

Last years and death

In order not to get away from Paco Sierra's company, Esperanza Iris organized a prison choir in the Lecumberri prison, known as El Palacio Negro.

After the attack, Esperanza Iris' artistic career was overshadowed by the controversy caused by the event.

For several years, Mexican society replaced the image of the theater's glory with that of her husband's accomplice. Esperanza suffered the humiliation of having been betrayed by Sierra and lost the respect of much of her audience.

Esperanza Iris passed away on November 7, 1962 in Mexico City. The remains of the actress are buried in the Panteón Jardín cemetery.

Despite the adversities that she had to go through in her life, the artistic value left by Esperanza Iris is still recognized. The first Mexican actress internationally recognized for her theatrical legacy.

References

1. Cherem, S. (2017). Hope Iris. The last queen of the operetta in Mexico. Mexico: Planet.
2. López Sánchez, S. and. (2002). Hope Iris. The iron tiple (Writings 1). INBA, 272.
3. Rico, A. (1999). The Esperanza Iris theater. The passion for tables. Mexico: Plaza and Valdés.
4. Vargas Salguero, R. (2005). Federico E. Mariscal. Life and work. Mexico: UNAM.
5. Zedillo Castillo, A. (1989). The Mexico City Theater Esperanza Iris. Lusters, luster, experiences and hopes. Mexico: DDF.