Dominican actor Andrés García, leading man of Mexican soap operas par excellence, died this Tuesday
at the age of 81, after having been sick in bed for months as a result of a fall at home and his health weakened by a diagnosis of cirrhosis, reported the National Association of Interpreters of Mexico.
"@ANDIMexico announces the death of interpreter partner Andrés García. Actor with a great career in theater, film and television. He is remembered for his emblematic role as 'Pedro Navaja', in the film of the same name," the agency wrote on Twitter.
The news had been advanced by friends and relatives of the actor such as the Mexican singer and actress Anahí.
“I know (sic) that you are already in a better place.
I will love you and remember you all my life with all my heart, my beloved Andrés," Anahí wrote on Twitter.
The health of the Mexican film legend, a cancer survivor, has deteriorated significantly in recent years:
he suffered from cirrhosis and a spinal cord problem
that caused him acute pain, according to what he himself shared in several videos that he uploaded to his YouTube channel. .
A fall in November 2022 at his house in the port of Acapulco caused severe blows and injuries, and forced him to remain in bed for months.
Actor Andrés García in a 2005 file photo in Miami, Florida.
Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images
“Dear friends, these last few days I have felt very tired and weak, so much so that I stumbled again.
And yes, I hurt myself again.
In this program I show you what happened and everything that led to my fall, a consequence of my state of health that is declining more every day.
I tell you with certainty,
I feel that I am close to my end
, ”wrote the actor in a message accompanied by a video on YouTube after the accident.
Earlier in the week, his wife, Margarita Portillo, posted a video saying that the actor's health had deteriorated again.
A soap opera heartthrob on and off the screen
García, born in 1941 in the Dominican Republic to Spanish parents
emigrated by the Francisco Franco dictatorship and nationalized as Mexican years later, triumphed with characters such as
Chanoc
(1959), from the homonymous film, with which he began his fruitful career at the age of 25. .
His roles in the films
Pedro Navaja
(1978) and
El niño y la papa
(1987) brought him fame throughout Latin America and he went on to produce several films in Colombia, including
Herencia Maldita
(1963).
Andrés García in a 2013 file photo in Burbank, California.
Tommaso Boddi/WireImage
But he is remembered more for his iconic leading man roles in Mexican soap operas, where he came to appear alongside actresses such as Lucía Méndez, in
Tú o nadie (1985);
Helena Rojo, in
The Privilege of Loving
(1998);
or Laura León, in
Mujeres engañadas
(1999).
His way of acting
stood out for his inquisitive look and the confidence
with which he performed in his characters, often playing the role of a heartthrob.
His roles as a handsome and gallant man also made him an archetype of the Mexican macho:
charismatic and gallant, but also violent, a drinker and a womanizer.
It was a lifestyle that followed him off screen and affected his personal relationships and his health.
He was married four times (with Sandra Vale, in 1967; Fernanda Ampudia, in 1974; Sonia Infante, in 1984; and Margarita Portillo, in 2000).
Although in several interviews he boasted that he had not been faithful to many of his partners.
“
It is a miracle that it has reached these years
”
Alcohol abuse marked a good part of his adult life and was the cause of the cirrhosis
that afflicted him during his last years.
On his YouTube channel, he posted a recent video in which he warned young people about excessive drinking.
“I thought, they are stories from our parents, they are stories.
I have never met someone with cirrhosis, so I want to inform you, I hope it will be of some use to you, you better think about it, because at 82 years old I just got cirrhosis of the liver and believe me that it is not pleasant, ”he said.
García, who
led a life of excesses and was considered a sex symbol of his time, survived prostate cancer and leukemia
, as well as serious accidents and even gunshots, according to what he himself recounted during an interview with Reforma in 2021.
[On video: Bruce Willis celebrates 68 years after his diagnosis of
mental illness]
"Look, I'm going to tell you something.
To begin with, I got prostate cancer, leukemia, skin cancer, and I fell out of helicopters.
They have shot me, I have also shot, that is,
It is a miracle that it has reached these years," he told the aforementioned outlet when he was celebrating his 80th birthday.
His legacy includes more than 70 films and two dozen series and soap operas.
He was the winner of the TVyNovelas award for best leading actor in 1986 and the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences awarded him a Silver Ariel in 1985 for his performance in
Toña machetes.
He is survived by his wife and three children: Andrés García Jr., Leonardo García, and Andrea García.
