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Cristina Michaus

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Cristina Michaus
Born (1961-09-09) September 9, 1961 (age 63)
Mexico
Occupation(s)Actress, activist, playwright, director
Years active1976–present
Notable workMujeres de Ciudad Juárez, De la calle, El tigre de Santa Julia
AwardsAriel Award for Best Supporting Actress (2001), FONCA Fellowship (2002, 1994), Cuauhtemoc award (1998)

Cristina Michaus (born September 9, 1961) is a Mexican actress, playwright, and film director.

Career

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Cristina Michaus began her artistic career in 1976 and studied acting at the Universidad Veracruzana.[1][2][3]

Early in her career, Michaus performed at the Teatro Blanquita, sharing the stage with performers from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, such as Blanca Guerra and Adalberto Martínez "Resortes".[1] She later acted alongside Daniel Giménez Cacho in Sexo, pudor y lágrimas and Luis Fernando Peña in the feature film De la calle.[4][5]

Theatre

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During the 1980s and 1990s, Michaus acted in classical plays such as The Great Theatre of the World by Pedro Calderón de la Barca and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the latter produced by the National Theatre Company of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. She also starred in contemporary plays including Rosa de dos aromas and Sexo, pudor y lágrimas, the latter of which was adapted into a successful film following its popularity on stage.[3][6][7][8] Her work as an actress and director is credited in more than 30 productions in Mexico according to the Registro de la Escena Mexicana.[9]

Theatrical criticism

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In Oedipus Rex, she "displays a maternal eroticism that is the passion of Jocasta".[10] Her portrayal of Adela in The House of Bernarda Alba was described by critic Malkah Rabell as performed “with vigor and dramatic insight.”[11] Rabell also called Michaus' adaptation of El apando “more infernal than Revueltas'” and her direction “so intensely realistic that one could almost smell the stifling air from the stage.”[12]

Film and television

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In cinema, Michaus has often portrayed marginalized and transgressive women. Her most recognized film role is that of Tomasa in El tigre de Santa Julia (2002).[13][14] In De la calle, she played La Seño, a drug dealer.[2][15] In De ida y vuelta she portrayed a sex worker.[16][17] Rafael Aviña placed these roles within the lineage of tragic female characters in classic Mexican cinema in his book Cabaret, rumberas y pecadoras en el cine mexicano… ayer y hoy.[18]

She has also appeared in television series, such as portraying Doña Esperanza, the mother of El Chapo in the eponymous Netflix series, and in Mujeres asesinas.[19][20][21]

Activism

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After 20 years in acting, Michaus co-founded the production company Tenzin and the civil association Barriocinema. Through these, she has produced plays and short films addressing issues such as gender-based violence, domestic violence, social justice, and human rights. Her work combines theatre and cinema with social awareness campaigns—a method she refers to as "artivism".[22][23]

One of her main themes is the femicides in Ciudad Juárez. She traveled there to investigate, direct, and co-produce the documentary Juárez: desierto de esperanza.[24][25][26] She collected thousands of signatures demanding justice from both the Mexican government and the United Nations Human Rights Council, which she delivered personally in New York. Michaus also helped organize mass protests in Mexico City’s Zócalo against violence toward women.[27][28][29][30]

In 2002, she wrote and performed the monologue Mujeres de Ciudad Juárez.[31][32] After over 200 performances in Mexico, it was translated into English and adapted by Jimmy A. Noriega. The English version was performed by multiple actresses and presented at universities across the U.S., as well as international festivals in Colombia, Belgium, Greece, and India. As of 2022, the monologue is the subject of academic studies on theatre and gender-based violence.[27][33][34][35][36]

In 2004, Michaus co-produced and co-directed the documentary ¿Te digo un secreto?, featuring testimonies of women who had taken refuge in domestic violence shelters. The film and other selected short films were presented in the Zócalo and in marginalized neighborhoods - often in the same communities where the films were made - covering topics such as violence, addiction, and reproductive health.[22][37][38][39]

Between 2017 and 2018, Michaus co-wrote and performed the monologue Con don de decidir, aimed at preventing teenage pregnancies. It was presented to more than 20,000 secondary school students in partnership with state governments including those of Baja California Sur and Tlaxcala.[40][41][42]

She also co-wrote the anti-violence stand-up piece Pásele marchanta in 2006, produced with support from Mexico City’s government.[43] The show was later staged in Hermosillo and again in Mexico City as part of Las Tandas del Círculo Teatral, raising funds for the educational project led by Alberto Estrella, and performed alongside fellow activist actors such as Alma Muriel and Ofelia Medina.[44][45]

Stage work

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  • Mujeres de Ciudad Juárez: author, co-producer, co-director, and actress.[27][31][32][33][34][35][46]
  • Con don de decidir: author, producer, director, and actress.[40][41][47][48]
  • Pásele marchanta: co-author, co-producer, co-director, and actress.[45]
  • Tiempos furiosos: actress.[49]
  • Sexo, pudor y lágrimas: actress.[3][5][6]
  • Rosa de dos aromas: actress.[3]
  • El gran teatro del mundo: actress.[9]
  • Edipo Rey: actress.[10]
  • La casa de Bernarda Alba: actress.[11]
  • Apando: director.[12]
  • Bajo el silencio: director.[50]
  • Sor Juana en el SPA (2011): author and director.[51]

Filmography

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Film

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Television and series

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  • El Chapo (2017–2018), as Doña Esperanza (El Chapo’s mother) – seasons 1, 2, and 3.[19]
  • Somos oro (2024), as Miss Jose.[59]
  • Mujeres asesinas (2008) – episode "Mónica, acorralada".[20]

Documentaries

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  • Juárez: Desierto de esperanza (2022), co-producer and co-director.[24][25][26][29]
  • ¿Te digo un secreto? (2004), co-producer and co-director.[37][38][39]

Awards

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  • Ariel Award for Best Supporting Actress for De la calle (2001).[4][60][61]
  • Ariel nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Sin dejar huella (2000).[17]
  • Ariel nomination for Best Supporting Actress for De ida y vuelta (2000).[17]
  • 2002 grant recipient of the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA) in the theatre performance category, awarded for her 25-year career and work on the Ciudad Juárez femicides.[62]
  • 1998 Cuauhtémoc Art Prize for the play Rosario o el desencanto de la patria.[63][64]
  • 1994 grant recipient of the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes for the creation of a solo multidisciplinary performance on the theme of Woman and Homeland.[65]
  • Regarding Mujeres de Ciudad Juárez:
    • Published by the National Council for Culture and the Arts and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in the academic anthology Hotel Juárez: Dramaturgia de feminicidios (2008).[46]
    • The English version, Women of Ciudad Juárez, directed by Jimmy Noriega, received a Kennedy Center award at the American College Theater Festival in 2015 for "Making Theatre an Important Catalyst for Social Political Change".[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Perusquía Mora, Liliana (2014). La cultura urbana en el lenguaje escénico de Julio Castillo (PDF) (Undergraduate thesis). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). p. 39. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b Solís, Juan (6 May 2002). "El cine mexicano debe ser un instrumento de denuncia". El Universal. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Olivares, Juan José (3 October 2001). ""No hice mi carrera a sentones; perdí oportunidades, pero me dignifiqué"". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b ""De la calle" arrasó con los premios Ariel". La Capital. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b Bert, Bruno (1991). "Sexo, pudor y lágrimas". Tiempo Libre. Sistema de información de la crítica teatral – Reseña Histórica del Teatro en México 2.0–2.1. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b Estela Leñero Franco (coord.), ed. (1991). Delirio zen en dos actos (PDF). Conaculta, Colección Periodismo cultural. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Huerta, César (13 January 2023). "Obras que pasaron del teatro al cine". El Universal. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Sexo, pudor y lágrimas ataca de nuevo". Excélsior. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Fuentes para el registro de la escena mexicana". Sistema de información de la crítica teatral. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b Harmony, Olga (15 June 2000). "Edipo rey". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  11. ^ a b Rabell, Malkah (1986). "La casa de Bernarda Alba, Universidad Veracruzana". El Día. Sistema de información de la crítica teatral – Reseña Histórica del Teatro en México 2.0–2.1. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  12. ^ a b Rabell, Malkah (1991). "El apando, espectáculo autodestructivo". El Día. Sistema de información de la crítica teatral – Reseña Histórica del Teatro en México 2.0–2.1. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  13. ^ Hernández Cerda, Elizabeth (18 October 2002). "Michaus descarta la idea de retirarse". El Universal. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  14. ^ a b Rooney, David (25 July 2002). "The Tiger of Santa Julia". Variety. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  15. ^ a b Young, Deborah (31 March 2001). "Streeters". Variety. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  16. ^ a b Loewenstein, Lael (5 September 2000). "To and Fro". Variety. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d "Cristina Michaus, doble candidatura al Ariel". Noticine. 9 May 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  18. ^ Aviña, Rafael (2019). Cabaret, rumberas y pecadoras en el cine mexicano (PDF). Palabra de Clío. ISBN 978-607-98296-7-4. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  19. ^ a b Schwindt, Oriana (24 March 2017). "'El Chapo' Univision-Netflix Series Casts Marco de la O as Cartel Head". Variety. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  20. ^ a b Peralta, Claudia (6 November 2015). ""Convierten a 'Mónica' en 'asesina'"". Noroeste. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  21. ^ Sánchez, Verónica (29 March 2017). "Entrevista exclusiva con la actriz Cristina Michaus". El Sud Californiano. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  22. ^ a b Olivares, Juan José (31 July 2008). "Con Barriocinema el arte cumple su deber social". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  23. ^ Ramírez, Nestor (7 September 2021). "La impartición de justicia en México está en pañales: Cristina Michaus". La Lista. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  24. ^ a b Caballero, Jorge (19 June 2002). "Odio de género, lo que permea los casos de asesinato de mujeres". La Jornada. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  25. ^ a b Camacho Servín, Fernando (2 December 2004). "Homenaje mediante la danza a las más de 300 asesinadas en Juárez". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  26. ^ a b Poniatowska, Elena (2004). "Esa larga cicatriz". Chicana/Latina Studies 4. 4 (1): 88–94. JSTOR 23014441. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  27. ^ a b c Zien, Katherine (2015). "On the Bleeding Edge of the Real: Women of Ciudad Juárez". Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. 25 (3). Routledge: 370–376. doi:10.1080/0740770X.2015.1102436. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  28. ^ "Concierto por la no violencia". Proceso. 26 November 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  29. ^ a b Lapalus, Marylène (2023). Se mobiliser au nom du féminicide: Généalogie d'une résistance à la violence patriarcale, México (1997–2018) (doctoral) (in French). Université Lumière - Lyon II. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  30. ^ "Piden a Fox ver el caso de Ciudad Juárez como crimen de Estado". Proceso. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  31. ^ a b Magally, Silvia (24 June 2003). "Una hora de horror en *Las mujeres de Ciudad Juárez*, monologue by Cristina Michaus". CIMAC Noticias. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  32. ^ a b Morales Valentín, Emilio (29 October 2002). "Al teatro, muertes de Juárez". El Universal. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  33. ^ a b Noriega, Jimmy A. (2020). "Teatro Travieso and the Performance of Feminicide in Women of Ciudad Juárez". In Debaroti Chakraborty, Debra A. Castillo, Kavita Panjabi (ed.). Centering Borders in Latin American and South Asian Contexts. Routledge. pp. 219–244. doi:10.4324/9780429356421-19. ISBN 978-0-429-35642-1. Retrieved 29 March 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  34. ^ a b Herrera-Lasso González, Martha (2022). "Review of Women of Ciudad Juárez, by Cristina Michaus". Theatre Journal. 74 (1): 95–98. doi:10.1353/tj.2022.0013. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  35. ^ a b c Bulman, Gail A. (2022). "(In)justicia (in)visible: Mujeres de Ciudad Juárez de Cristina Michaus". In Osvaldo Sandoval-León and Chrystian Zegarra (coords.) (ed.). Partera de la historia: Violencia en literatura, performance y medios audiovisuales en Latinoamérica. Ciudad de México: Editora Nómada / Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. pp. 191–207. doi:10.47377/parterahist-cap10. ISBN 978-607-8820-17-7. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  36. ^ Goswamy, Ruchika (14 November 2019). "Theatre fest ends with play on femicide in Mexico". Indian Express. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  37. ^ a b García, Solange (31 August 2004). "Cristina Michaus tiene un 'secreto'". El Universal. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  38. ^ a b Olivares, Juan José (1 September 2004). "¿Te digo un secreto?, retrato del rostro de la desilusión". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  39. ^ a b "Cineasta muestra cinta violencia doméstica con personajes de cartón". Nación. 31 August 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  40. ^ a b "Más de 22 mil alumnos de BCS han observado el Don de decidir". InfórmateBCS. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  41. ^ a b "¨Programa vivir en paz en tu escuela orienta a alumnos". Secretaría General de Gobierno de Baja California Sur. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  42. ^ "Espacio Escénico Espejo Ilusión, una alternativa escénica (Con don de decidir)". Agenda Tlaxcala. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  43. ^ "Social Development Co-investment Program (*Pásele marchanta*)" (PDF). Directorate General for Equality and Social Diversity, Government of Mexico City. 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  44. ^ Serrano Rodríguez, Alejandra (2007). Teatro en los estados: Anuario 2007 (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  45. ^ a b "Apoyará 'Las Tandas del Círculo Teatral' a proyectos independientes". Informador. 20 December 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  46. ^ a b Michaus, Cristina (2008). "Mujeres de Ciudad Juárez: Monólogo para innumerables voces". In Enrique Mijares, Victoria Martínez, Rocío Galicia (ed.). Hotel Juárez: Dramaturgia de feminicidios. México: Espacio Vacío / UJED / Conaculta-INBA. pp. 171–188.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  47. ^ "La actriz Cristina Michaus presenta Con don de decidir en La Paz". El SudCaliforniano. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  48. ^ García Pardo, José (17 December 2017). "Cristina Michaus: Teatro de alto riesgo". California en Línea. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  49. ^ Bert, Bruno (1998). "Ilustración naturalista". Tiempo libre. Sistema de Información de la Crítica Teatral – Reseña Histórica del Teatro en México 2.0–2.1. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  50. ^ Correa, Ofelia (7 February 2020). "Café K-OZ: Un espacio íntimo para el arte". Bogart Magazine. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  51. ^ Serrano Rodríguez, Alejandra (2011). Teatro en los estados: Anuario 2011 (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  52. ^ Olivares, Juan José (4 October 2001). "De la calle, una historia de los personajes que nos rodean". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  53. ^ "Programa Oficial" (PDF). 1er Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia. 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  54. ^ Franco Reyes, Salvador (20 June 2001). "Leyenda popular". El Universal. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  55. ^ Caballero, Jorge (27 September 2002). "El Tigre de Santa Julia representa la venganza de los oprimidos: actores". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  56. ^ Rooney, David (20 April 2001). "Broken Hearts". Variety. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  57. ^ Menken, Robin (9 November 2011). ""Tequila: The Story of a Passion" – a film by Sergio Sánchez". Cinema Without Borders. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  58. ^ "Programa Oficial" (PDF). 8º Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia. 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  59. ^ Aguilar Loya, Sandra (7 November 2024). "Somos Oro: Una comedia maquiavélica". 24 Horas. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  60. ^ "El cine en la voz de sus protagonistas". La Jornada. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  61. ^ Ayala Blanco, Jorge (9 June 2002). "El crítico que no estuvo ahí". La Jornada. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  62. ^ "Beca FONCA 2002". Sistema de Información Cultural (Secretaría de Cultura de México). Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  63. ^ José Rogelio Álvarez, ed. (1998). Enciclopedia de México. Vol. 11. Sabeca Internacional. p. 6581. ISBN 1-56409-024-8. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  64. ^ "Rosario o el desencanto de la patria". Mano de obra – relatos breves. Almadía. 2006. ISBN 9789709854183. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  65. ^ "Beca FONCA 1994". Sistema de Información Cultural (Secretaría de Cultura de México). Retrieved 26 April 2025.
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