| Gilda Galán | |
| Birth Date: | January 16, 1917 |
| Birth Place: | Guayama, Puerto Rico |
| Death Place: | Carolina, Puerto Rico |
Gilda Galán (January 16, 1917 – June 21, 2009) was a Puerto Rican actress, comedian, writer, composer, scriptwriter and poet.[1] The veteran actress, whose career spanned decades, enjoyed one of the longest careers in the history of the Puerto Rican entertainment industry.[1]
Gilda Galán was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, in 1917.[1]
Galán died on Sunday afternoon, June 21, 2009, at 1:06 P.M.[1] at El Hogar Alivio Dorado in Carolina, Puerto Rico at the age of 92.[2] Galan had been in declining health during the last six months of her life.[2]
Galán began working at WKAQ (AM) radio in San Juan in 1948 following her graduation from high school.[1] She worked as a programming and writer at WKAQ, as well as a comedic and dramatic voice actress on the air for the station.[1] It was at WKAQ that Galan created her first well known character, La Abuelita or Grandma, and she would continue to play similar roles on television later in her career.[1] She also wrote scripts for comedian and producer, Tommy Muñiz, who performed at WKAQ.[1]
One of Galán's best known roles was as the character, Agnes, in the play Los Soles Truncos by playwright René Marqués.[2] Galan debuted as Agnes in Los Soles Truncos as part of the first inaugural Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño at the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña in 1958.[1] Her work in Los Soles Truncos catapulted Galán to fame within her profession.[1]
Galán later performed as Bernarda in the play La Casa de Bernarda Alba (The House of Bernarda Alba) by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca.[1] Her particular production of Bernarda Alba was directed by Dean Zayas.[2]
In 1967, Galán began appearing in a political satire program, "Se alquilan habitaciones", as the popular main character, Marunga.[1] [2] It was one of the first examples of political satire on Puerto Rican television.[1] The controversial show, which was created and written by political satire humorist Alberto Gonzalez,[3] was pulled from broadcast on several occasions.[1]
Galán continued to work in television roles similar to her character, Marunga, throughout the 1970s.[1]
Galán's other television roles included the comedy, El Beauty, as well as El diario de una mujer, Cuentos de la abuelita and Todo el año es Navidad.[1] Her career in television and theater continued into the 2000s.