Dominican cinema and TV legend Andrés García dies at 81

Andrés García, a legend of Mexican cinema and soap operas born in the Dominican Republic, died this Tuesday after weeks in which his health deteriorated. He was 81 years old.

Through Twitter, the singer Anahí Puente, who was close to the interpreter of the movie “Pedro Navajas”, wrote: “I can’t find the words… I thank God for giving me the gift of your love. I know you are in a better place now. I will love you and remember you all my life with all my heart, my beloved Andrés”.

The veteran actor began his film career at 25 in the action movie “Chanoc”, in the role of the character of the same name.

After filming dozens of movies, he began his career on television in 1970, becoming a Latino sex symbol.

His more than 55-year career includes resounding appearances in soap operas such as “Tú o nadie”, “El privilegio de amar”, “El cuerpo del deseo”, among others.

The artist was born in the Dominican Republic on May 24, 1941. Still, since childhood, he emigrated first to Chile and then to Mexico, settling with his family in Acapulco, the state or province of Guerrero.

He had three nationalities: Spanish for his parents, Dominican for his birthplace, and Mexican for when he lived in that North American country.

For some time, García had been going through a complicated process of cirrhosis and had health problems that made mobility difficult and kept him in bed with constant relapses.

His deterioration has been evident since July 2022, when he suffered a severe fall.

Since then, he had predicted his death sooner rather than later.

“Every step I take, I’m falling. I don’t want to live like this… Hopefully, we are not attending the last appearance of the last living legend of Mexican cinema. Let’s hope we get ahead of all this,” he came to say while alive.

A few days ago, his wife, Margarita Portillo, reported that he had difficulty walking.

“She has not lost her appetite, although she eats very little, which always worries me, she asks me for many things all the time to eat. They are made for her all the time,” she told the Mexican newspaper El Financiero a few days ago.