CUBAN CHARACTERS: CHELO ALONSO, Italian Movie Female Sensation. VIDEO.
The female discovery of the Italian cinema of 1959.
Isabella Garcia, real name of Chelo Alonso, was born in Central Lugareño, Camagüey (Cuba). Her first calling was ance, making presentations in various cities of Cuba. She began working professionally in Havana at the age of 17 and soon gained notoriety in the National Theater of Cuba by its sensual style and Exotico.como Chelo Alonso traveled throughout the Caribbean, obtaining great success. They helped her much its measures 91-53-91 and her Cadence dancing coupled with a good command of the scene. Shortly afterwards arose in Miami and then, as it was expected, traveled to Broadway.
En 1957 is hired by the Folies-Bergere in Paris, where it was called “new Josephine Baker”. Her talent as a dancer would be very used later in her film career.
Hunters of talents were immediately fixed in it and shortly after she was hired to make cinema in Italy. Her Latin type framed very well to realistic films postwar, but especially in a new genre: epic films. Her first film filmed in 1959, was “The attack of the Moors” which had good success. Then did a small role in “look at her but don’t touch” that same year.
Her rise to international fame came the same year with the film “under the sign of Rome”, (1959) with Anita Ekberg. Its sensual dance in the film was used as promotion for the film, even more than the participation of the Swedish diva. Few remember that one of its directors was the mythical Michelangelo Antonioni, who during the lean for her intellectual theater, had to be responsible for the direction of this film that we recommend. The attractions of this rarity, – according to Christopher Frayling, scholar of the subject – lie in the debut in the genre of Anita Ekberg, a year before the orders of Fellini to film “La dolce vita”.
She signed a contract to film “Hércules” with Steve Reeves and from that moment, the sensuous figure of Chelo opened the doors to a new genre of films which demanded exotic figures. She completed the year 1959 filming again with Steve Reeves Hercules saga, titled “The terror of the barbarians”. For this film, Chelo Alonso was called “Female discovery of the Italian cinema of 1959”. Other titles along with actors of first size as “Gastone” (1960) with Alberto Sordi and Vittorio De Sica; “The branch of Saraceno” (1959) with Lex Barker, among others. She participated in 19 feature films.
Chelo, erotic myth, made history at the peplum. Stayed in Italy at the beginning of the 1960s, and did not want to never return to Cuba. It would have their reasons…
In 1961, Alonso married Aldo Pomilia, a production manager and producer for many of her films. She has one son, Aldino Pomilia.
After the death of her husband, Alonso moved to the city of Siena in Tuscany, Italy. She retired from film and started a cat-breeding business, as well as a four-star hotel.
Filmography
Year Title Role
1959 Guardatele ma non toccatele Pepita Garcia
Nel Segno di Roma (Sheba and the Gladiator) Erica
Tunis Top Secret Sherazad/Soraya
Il terrore dei barbari (Goliath and the Barbarians) Landa
La scimitarra del Saraceno (The Pirate and the Slave Girl) Princess Miriam
I Reali di Francia (Attack of the Moors) Suleima
1960 Il terrore della maschera rossa (Terror of the Red Mask) Karima
La strada dei giganti (Road of the Giants) Stella Von Kruger
La regina dei tartari (The Huns) Tanya, Queen of the Tartars
Morgan il pirata (Morgan, the Pirate) Concepcion
Maciste nella Valle dei Re (Son of Samson) Queen Smedes
Le signore Rosaria
Gastone (it) Carmencita
1961 Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi (Atlas Against the Cyclops) Capys
La ragazza sotto il lenzuolo (it) (Girl Under the Sheet) Maria Celeste Cortez d’Aragona
1962 Quattro notti con Alba (Desert War) Alba Petti
1966 Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) Stevens’ Wife
1968 Corri uomo corri (Run, Man, Run) Dolores
1969 La notte dei serpenti (de) (Night of the Serpent / Nest of Vipers) Dolores
Agencies/CubaMemorias/DerubinJacome/Wiki/InternetPhotos/YouTube.
THE CUBAN HISTORY, HOLLYWOOD.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.
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