Alfredo Alcón
Alfredo Félix Alcón Riesco, was born in the town of Ciudadela, Buenos Aires, on March 3, 1930. He was the only child of Elisa Riesco and Félix Alcón, a working class couple. After the death of his father, when Alfredo He was barely five years old, the family moved to a house in Pasaje El Carpintero, in the “Barrio de las mil casitas”, in Liniers, Buenos Aires. As his mother worked in a stocking factory, the boy was taken care of by his grandparents.
He then began his secondary studies at the Cardenal Cisneros industrial school, located at Av. Montes de Oca 745, in the Barracas neighborhood, but decided to abandon them to enroll in the Conservatory of Dramatic Art located at that time at French 3614 in the Palermo neighborhood.
His passion for theater began at a very young age, influenced, in large part, by the pleasure he had in interpreting Shakespeare's texts, which he discovered thanks to an uncle, owner of an important and vast library. Although that passion, at first, was tinged with the distrust of his first teachers at the Conservatory due to his shyness and introspection.
Although Alcón began working on Radio Nacional, he had his first acting role alongside Mirtha Legrand, in the film “Love never dies”, directed by Luis Cesar Amadori, in 1955.
Although his debut received all the criticism from the press, the truth is that over the years, that actor who the media pointed out as "a failure who perfectly imitates showcase dolls", managed to demonstrate his talent, and occupy the privileged place of being one of the greatest and most versatile Argentine actors, recognized even internationally.
He participated in more than fifty films, among them: “Un guapo del 900”, “Martín Fierro”, “The Saint of the Sword”, “Boquitas Pinturas”, “Nazareno Cruz y el lobo”, “Pubis angelical”, and “ Last images of the shipwreck”, among others.
It was directed in theater by Margarita Beckett, in the more than forty works he created.
His work was divided between Argentina and Spain, a country in which he also stood out with his interpretations and in which he performed with confidence and ease due to his Spanish ancestry (one of his grandmothers was Andalusian and the other Castilian), he achieved the accent Iberian and was acclaimed by the local public.
He became interested in theater directing and, until his last days, worked tirelessly on the play “Final de departure” by Samuel Beckett with Joaquín Furriel, in 2012.
Alfredo Alcón was admired, respected and loved by all of his colleagues both for his talent and for his human quality. He shared scenes, scenes and friendships with the greatest actors and directors of local entertainment, such as Rodolfo Bebán, Norma Aleandro, Leopoldo Torres Nilson, Leonardo Favio.
He was recognized with four Silver Condor Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award, six Martín Fierro, two Quinquela Martín, the Best Actor Award at the Cartagena International Film Festival, two María Guerrero, the García Lorca (Spain), the ACE Gold and the Golden Star of the Sea, the Grand Prize of Honor from the Konex Foundation and the Latin American Figure Award, among others, and he was declared an Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires, in 2002.
On April 11, 2014, at the age of 84, Alfredo Alcón died at his home in Buenos Aires after a respiratory complication. A few months ago he had had to undergo surgery for an intestinal infection. At the time of his death, he was in the full phase of rehabilitation.
His remains were laid to rest in the Hall of Lost Steps of the Congress of the Argentine Nation.
References and Photographs:
https://www.argentina.gob.ar/secretariageneral/museo-casa-rosada/iconos-argentinos/alcon
https://www.cultura.gob.ar/alfredo-alcon-el-talento-y-la-humildad-de-un-grande-8908/
https://historiaybiografias.com/alfredo_alcon/
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Alc%C3%B3n
03/2022
