María Elena Velasco

In the meantime, the family adapted William Shakespeare's Othello as Huapango (2004). Iván was the director and María Elena and Ivette (credited as Goretti Lipkies) played supporting roles. The script that earned the three of them an Ariel Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

She wrote the screenplay for her penultimate screen comedy, Las delicias del poder (1999), a political satire in which she plays twin sisters. It was directed by her son and produced by her daughter, Ivette Lipkies. Las delicias del poder was such a success that María Elena planned another India María movie, but the project was eventually postponed.

After a long absence from the small screen (she had been blacklisted for many years for joking about the expensive vacations of Mexican presidents), La India María came back with her own sitcom, ¡Ay María qué puntería! (1998), and several guest appearances on the small screen.

Six years later, she found theatrical success as La India María in the stage comedy México canta y aguanta (1994), for which she won the Mexican Theatre Critics Association's Celia Montalván Award.

Winner of a 1989 Premio El Heraldo de México for her 35 years in show business.

Her son, Iván Lipkies, produced her first independent feature film, Ni de aquí, ni de allá (1988).

Winner of the 1987 Premio Taquilla de Oro ("Golden Box-Office Award") for being the most financially successful Mexican movie star of 1986.

Occasionally she played other characters: a Spanish stage star in Ni Chana, ni Juana (1984), a Mexican presidential candidate in Las delicias del poder (1999), and a huapango dance teacher in Huapango (2004).

Matouk gave her more artistic freedom and produced El Coyote emplumado (1983) and Ni Chana, ni Juana (1984), the first India María movies she directed.

vuela! (1982), her final collaboration with Fuentes.

Her character travels to the US for the first time in Okey, Mister Pancho (1981). She won Mexico's equivalent of the Golden Globe Award for her performance in ¡El que no corre. . .

In the early 1980s, María Elena signed a new contract with Antonio Matouk.

She flies a helicopter in Sor Tequila (1977), is seen as a good luck charm in Duro pero seguro (1978), and masquerades as a rich society woman in La comadrita (1978).

La India María continued to triumph at the box office with her adventures as a vendor of healing water in Pobre, pero honrada! (1973), a troublesome nun in La madrecita (1974), a mayor of a small town in La presidenta municipal (1975), and the guardian of a rich Shih Tzu dog in El miedo no anda en burro (1976). La India María often finds herself in zany situations.

Fernando de Fuentes hijo produced her first blockbuster, Tonta, tonta, pero no tanto (1972).

María Elena returned to television as the main star of the variety program Revista musical Nescafe (1972).

A gifted singer-songwriter, she usually wrote and sang songs for her movies. She also recorded two albums as La India María: La mejor cantante de todas las grabadoras (1971) and De chile, de dulce y de manteca (1982).

Her frequent appearances in TV shows such as Domingos espectaculares (1969) and Siempre en domingo (1970) led to a film career.

Multitalented María Elena Velasco is Mexico's greatest comedienne. La India María, the hilarious, likable indigenous woman she created and played, is the most successful female movie character in the history of Mexican cinema; her comedies broke box office records and remain widely popular. She also had her own comic book, recorded a couple of albums, starred in a stage show and a sitcom. María Elena Velasco Fragoso was born in Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, but when her father became seriously ill the family moved to Mexico City looking for medical help. After her husband passed away, María Elena's mother decided to stay in the Mexican capital. María Elena and her younger sister, Susy Velasco, later found work in show business. The beautiful and curvaceous María Elena began her career as a dancer in variety shows. She became an actress on stage as the serious counterpart to many famous comedians, including Fernando Soto "Mantequilla", Adalberto Martínez "Resortes", Manuel Medel, and José Jasso. Around the same time, she appeared on the big screen playing supporting roles in México de mis recuerdos (1963), Los derechos de los hijos (1963), and El revólver sangriento (1964). La India María, the character that finally made her a star, was inspired by the indigenous street vendors who sold fruit on San Juan de Letrán Avenue in central Mexico City. María Elena's new comedy sketch at the Teatro Blanquita was overwhelmingly popular. La India María successfully transitioned into television.

Daughter of Tomás Velasco Saavedra (d. 1950) of Puebla and María Elena Fragoso Peón (d. 1998) of Acámbaro, Guanajuato.