translated from Spanish: What was the ficheras cinema all about?

Mexican actor Alfonso Zayas Inclán died on the night of Thursday, July 8, 2021 at the age of 80. “Full of deep grief,” his family confirmed the unfortunate news through a statement they posted on social media; he had an artistic career of more than 50 years, dedicated to sexi-comedy and Mexican picardy. Alfonso Zayas was one of the most emblematic actors of the so-called “cine de ficheras”, a film genre that emerged within Mexican cinema and that had its great boom in the 1970s and 1980s. It was characterized by mischief, eroticism and mexican albur (the double meaning). In Mexico, a woman who frequented second- and third-class cabarets to dance and accompany clients was colloquially called “fichera.” If a drink was cosumidda by her or her client, the cabaret staff would give the lady a token redeemable for money at closing time.  The cinema of ficheras was based on the women of the nightlife, the women of the cabaret, but from a very different context. In the years that this film genre was at its peak censorship was a thing of the past and before this, explicit nude films were used in various films to attract audiences to the cinemas. Read more: Who was Alfonso Zayas Inclán? Meet the Mexican actor who conquered the big screenEra a cinema of cabaret melodramas, vedetismo and magazine; the film “Bellas de noche” is officially considered to be the first film of this genre. This film filmed in 1975 was directed by Miguel M. Delgado, starring Sasha Montenegro and Jorge Rivero.In addition to Sasha Montenegro (who was the wife of the late former President of Mexico José López Portillo), they were some of the most outstanding actresses in the cinema of ficheras: Lyn May. Lina Santos. Angelica Chain. Carmen Salinas. Maribel Fernández, “La Pelangocha”. Maribel Guardia. Alfonso Zayas participated in films of the cinema of ficheras like “El sexo me da risa”, “La pulquería”, “Las vedettes”, “La risa alarga la vida y algo más”, “La torta caliente”, “El rey de las ficheras” and many more. As well as Alfonso Zayas, other Mexican actors who were part of the cinema of ficheras are Rafal Inclán, Luis de Alba, Alberto Rojas “El Caballo” and Manuel “El Flaco” Ibáñez.Read more: The rumors were true, Sandra Echeverría confirms that she suffered from rare disease: “we already killed her”But the cinema was not the only space in which she performed; Alfonso Zayas was very present on television and among his most famous participations is his work with María Victoria in the series “La criada bien criada” (1972). He was also part of successful comedy programs such as “El show del Loco Valdés” (1972) or “El show de Alejandro Suárez” (1972).



Original source in Spanish