Roberto G. Rivera

Mexico City, Mexico

Roberto Gutiérrez Rivera (April 1st, 1927 - June 11th, 2016), better known simply as Roberto G. Rivera, was a Mexican actor, singer, producer, story writer, screenwriter, and film director. He began his artistic career as a singer in 1945 after winning a contest, and by 1950 he was performing ranchera music on television programs such as Noches Tapatías, Así es mi Tierra, and Estudio Raleigh on XEWTV’s Canal 2. He studied medicine for a little over a year at UNAM before leaving to enter cinema full-time, debuting as an actor in 1946 in El yugo (dir. Víctor Urruchúa). Over his career he acted in 102 films alongside major stars including Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, and Tito Guízar; he also wrote for 20 films and produced 60. In 1959 he received his first opportunity as a leading man and writer with Ferias de México (dir. Rafael Portillo), and produced La ley de las pistolas and Pistolas invencibles (both dir. Benito Alazraki). After a long hiatus, he directed the short film Los marginados (1972), portraying harsh realities of social poverty in Monterrey. In 1981 he produced and directed his first feature film, El Milusos, based on a story by Ricardo Garibay; the film earned him the El Heraldo award for Best Debut (Ópera Prima) in 1984 and a special prize at the Karlovy Vary festival that same year, and it was later recognized by the national film industry as a major box-office success. He went on to direct Las glorias del gran Púas (1982), El Milusos 2 (1983), and his last 35mm feature ¿La tierra prometida? / La dulce esperanza (1985), which won a top prize at the Tashkent international festival and received second place at Karlovy Vary in 1986; in the 1990s he returned to directing with several videohome productions. Separately, he received a gold medal in 1964 from the National Association of Actors for his promotion of Mexican culture abroad, an initiative attributed to President Adolfo López Mateos.