Quintana, Elvira

(1935-1968)

   after the death of her father in the Spanish Civil War, Elvira Quintana - along with her mother and sister - emigrated to Mexico. Elvira attended the ANDA acting school run by Andrés Soler, and in the early 1950s began receiving small parts in plays and films. With the help of a nose job and (probably) silicone breast injections, the attractive young woman became extremely beautiful, and by the end of the decade was a highly popular performer in films and on TV. Ironically - since she was not Mexican by birth - many of Quintana's films were rancheras or Westerns. In 1967, Quintana was diagnosed with illnesses of the pancreas and kidney, requiring dialysis and frequent hospitalization; she died in August 1968 of a cerebral embolism brought on by her kidney troubles.