Hermosillo, Jaime-Humberto (1942–)

Jaime-Humberto Hermosillo (b. 1942), Mexican film director. Born in Aguascalientes, Hermosillo studied film direction at the Center of Film Studies of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He began his career by producing short narrative films and documentaries. His first full-length film was La verdadera vocación de Magdalena (1971). Since that debut, Hermosillo has been one of the most consistent and dedicated directors of contemporary Mexican cinema. His main themes are the changing middle-class family, sexuality and alternative life-styles, and the demise of tradition and values. Many of his leading characters are women or gay men. Among his most critically praised films are La pasión según Berenice (1976), Matine (1977), Naufragio (1977), Amor libre (1979), María de mi corazón (1979), and La tarea (1991). Hermosillo was awarded the Ariel for best direction by the Mexican film academy for La pasión según Berenice and Naufragio.

Hermosillo's films present a fresh look at Mexican society. He prefers comedy, something not often found in Mexican cinema. His films respond, in an original way, to the Mexico behind the charro (horseman), the bandido, the margarita, and the burrito. His recent works include El Malogrado amor de Sebastián (2006), Amor (2006), Dos auroras (2005), and Rencor (2005), among others.

See alsoCinema: Since 1990; National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Luis Reyes De La Maza, El cine sonoro en México (1973).

E. Bradford Burns, Latin American Cinema: Film and History (1975).

Carl J. Mora, Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society: 1896–1980 (1982).

John King, Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America (1990).

Additional Bibliography

D'Lugo, Marvin. "Cinema of Solitude: A Critical Study of Mexican Film, 1967–1983." Film Quarterly 48, no.1 (Autumn 1994): 41-42.

Hermosillo, Jaime Humberto. La pasión según Berenice. Mexico: Katún, 1981.

Hermosillo, Jaime Humberto. La tarea, o, De cómo la pornografía salvódel tedio y mejoró la economía de la familia Partida: Guión cinematográfico original de Jaime Humberto Hermosillo. Mexico: Sistema, Sistemas Técnicos de Edición, 1991.

Hermosillo, Jaime Humberto, and Arturo Villaseñor. Intimidades en un cuarto de baño: Guión cinematográfico. Xalapa, Mexico: Universidad Veracruzana, 1992.

                                          David Maciel