Guerrero, Maria

Born 1863 or 1868 in Madrid; died there Jan. 23, 1928. Spanish actress.

Guerrero studied at the Madrid Conservatory (completed a course in declamation under the guidance of the famous actress T. Lamadrid). In 1885 she began to perform in the theater in Madrid, but soon departed for Paris, where she studied theatrical art with B. Coquelin. Upon her return to her homeland, Guerrero and the actor F. Diaz de Mendoza led the Guerrero-Mendoza Troupe, which they had organized (1896-1909), and the Princesa Theater in Madrid (1908-24). Guerrero introduced works of contemporary dramaturgy in the repertoire of the Spanish theater, including plays that contained elements of criticism of bourgeois reality (B. Pérez Galdós, J. Dicenta, J. de Echegaray, and others). She also staged the best of the national and world classics (Lope de Vega, J. Ruiz de Alarcon, Tirso de Molina, P. Calderón, F. Schiller, and others), in which she played leading roles. Guerrero regularly appeared with her troupe in Argentina and made guest appearances in Italy and France. In 1931 the Princesa Theater was renamed after Guerrero.