Empowerment Through Film: Maria Felix plays Juana Gallo

Maria Felix was a Mexican Film Actress and also one of the icons that came out of the Golden Age of Cinema in Mexico that lasted from 1935 to 1959. Although she never claimed to be a feminist she did a lot to empower women and to be idolized by feminists in Mexico and also Gay men. Many of her roles consisted of her being "La Doña"/The Boss and she rarely every played a part in which she was under the domination of any man. I loooooove Maria Felix! One of my favorite movies by her is Juana Gallo. Juana Gallo is about a legendary woman who played a big part in the Mexican Revolution. She was a strong fighter and led a group of men during the Mexican Revolution of 1910. This was significant because during this time, up until the 1930's there were laws that prohibited women from even moving out of their homes unless they married or turned 30 or so. This movie sends empowerment through film to women especially because of the fact that Juana Gallo's agency is clearly exercised when she decides to take a big part in the Mexican Revolution. When discussing disidentifications with Ivan a few weeks ago I thought of Juana Gallo and how she would fit into that whole picture. I think that many gay mexicans, aside from myself, can disidentify with Juana Gallo in the sense that the movie was probably not intended to attract gay men. But, none the less, gay men embraced the film because it completely goes against the norm that women are subservient to "macho" dominant men. I'm not sure if anyone would agree with me that this character, Juana Gallo, can be an icon that the gay mexican can disidentify with but I think it does.