Lourdes Portillo
Paul Archuleta/Film Magic
Lourdes Portillo is a prominent Mexican film director and social activist. the devil never sleeps and was nominated for an Oscar Las Madres – Mothers of Plaza de Mayo,died. She was 80 years old.
Portillo died Saturday at his home in San Francisco, said his friend Soco Aguilar. hollywood reporter. She was surrounded by three sons and her sister. The cause was not revealed.
Portillo is a writer, director, producer, activist, and journalist whose work centers on stories from Latin America and Mexico. Las Madres – Mothers of Plaza de MayoThe film, released in 1985, focused on the mothers of Argentina’s Desaparecidos, who held weekly protests in Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo during Argentina’s military dictatorship. This documentary earned her an Oscar nomination in 1986.
the devil never sleeps (1994) follows Portillo’s own investigation into his uncle’s death in Mexico. This work was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry in 2020.
In May 2023, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences exhibited a gallery featuring Portillo as part of a limited series and spotlight.In addition to Las Madres and the devil never sleepsthat is also a feature La Ofrenda: Days of the Dead and Senorita Extraviada.
“Lourdes Portillo was a dearest friend of mine who I had known since the early 1990s when I was studying and working in San Francisco,” Aguilar said. THR. “Portillo was an extraordinary human being who achieved not one but countless accomplishments in her lifetime through filmmaking and social activism. She was a true ‘chingona’ with unconventional and artistic talent. Their lives will continue to influence others for generations. ”
Aguilar quoted Maya Angelou in memory of her late friend. Leave an indelible mark on the world. ”
Portillo was born on November 11, 1943 in Chihuahua, Mexico. She moved to Los Angeles with her parents and her four siblings when she was 13 years old. Her survivors include her sister and her three children.
