Fernando A. Rivero

Biography

Fernando A. Rivero (Mexico City, February 9th 1902 – April 20th 1975) was a Mexican set designer, film director, painter, actor, and writer, regarded as a foundational figure—“the father” of Mexican film scenographers. He studied architecture but left the program for financial reasons, worked at the jewelry shop El Nuevo Mundo, emigrated to the United States in 1927 to work as a draftsman for advertising companies and newspapers, and returned to Mexico in 1931. After inheriting money upon his grandfather’s death, he founded the Compañía Anunciadora Mexicana; a later press note also states he was orphaned at age four and adopted by relatives, and that he began professionally in advertising, following the example of his father, Pedro Rivero Noriega. In 1931 he declared his company bankrupt and entered the film industry as a set designer on Santa (1931), continuing as a scenographer throughout his career on 34 films and occasionally appearing on screen (including roles as a “corpse” and a “suicide” in early-1930s productions). He worked for a period in Argentina and Spain, but the Spanish Civil War forced his return to Mexico in 1937, arriving aboard the ship “Durango” and rejoining …

Directed

1. Cantinflas Ruletero (1940) — Director
2. Cantinflas boxeador (1940) — Director
3. Los miserables (1943) — Director
4. Mujeres en mi Vida (1950) — Director
5. Jengibre contra Dinamita (1939) — Director
6. Juntos pero no revueltos (1939) — Director
7. The Bewitched House (1949) — Director
8. Perdida (1950) — Director
9. El fanfarrón: ¡Aquí llegó el valentón! (1943) — Director
10. Coqueta (1949) — Director
11. Seda Sangre Y Sol (1942) — Director
12. La extraña pasajera (1953) — Director
13. Víctimas del divorcio (1952) — Director
14. La noche es nuestra (1952) — Director
15. Los amantes (1951) — Director
16. Mi reino por un torero (1944) — Director
17. Siempre listo en las tinieblas (1939) — Director
18. The Bloody Inn (1943) — Director
19. Burlada (1951) — Director
20. Nosotros (1945) — Director
21. El pecado de ser pobre (1950) — Director
22. El beso mortal (1938) — Director
23. La morena de mi copla (1946) — Director
24. Good night my love (1951) — Director
25. Dinero maldito (1949) — Director
26. Canciones y recuerdos (1949) — Director
27. El príncipe del desierto (1947) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Santa (1932)
2. Prisoner 13 (1933) — Suicide Prisoner
3. Desecration (1934)