Bélgica Castro, the daughter of Spanish anarchist parents, was born in Concepción and studied in Temuco. In 1940, she traveled to Santiago to study Spanish at the of the University of Chile, where she joined the theater group Cadip. Then, along with other young artists led by Pedro de la Barra, she founded the in 1941. Hired by the BBC, she spent 1949 in London. Having retired from the Theater of the University of Chile, she and Alejandro Sieveking formed their own company, El Teatro del Ángel. Subsequently, from 1974 until the end of 1984, they settled in Costa Rica, where she also achieved notable successes with the same company. She was a teacher of the history of theater at the University of Chile's Theater School for 14 years, and of acting at the Theater School of the Catholic University of Chile and at the University of Costa Rica. In 1995, she was awarded the National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts. In 2001, she received the APES Award granted by the for her career. In 2007 she was nominated for the Altazor Award for Best Actress in Theater for her role in the play Cabeza de ovni, and won it in 2013 for Todo pasajero debe descender. She acted in numerous Chilean films, most notably ' by Jorge Délano; El final del juego by Luis Cornejo; Little White Dove, Days in the Country and the miniseries La Recta Provincia by Raúl Ruiz; and ' and The Good Life by Andrés Wood. Under the direction of Ricardo Larraín she participated in Chile puede, where she played a Russian scientist, a role for which she received the Paoa Award of the Viña del MarInternational Film Festival for Best National Lead Actress and the APES Award for Best Supporting Actress. For her role in the film , the debut of director Sebastián Silva, she won the 2008 Altazor Award for National Arts in the category Best Film Actress. In 2009, she received the same award for her role in Andrés Wood's The Good Life. In 2010, she returned to the big screen in the Sebastián Silva film Old Cats, along with her husband Alejandro Sieveking, Claudia Celedón, and Catalina Saavedra. Her lead role earned her the Best Actress award at the 16th Festivalisimo, the Ibero-Latin American Film Festival of Montreal, and a third Altazor for film acting. Castro died on 6 March 2020, her 99th birthday, which fell one day after the death of her husband Alejandro Sieveking, who died at age 85 on 5 March.
Filmography
Film
'
El final del juego
Little White Dove – Abuela
Sin ceder
'
' – Margarita
Days in the Country – Paulita
'
Chile puede
The Good Life
Old Cats – Isidora
Viejos amores – Herself
Television
'
' – Eduviges
La Recta Provincia – Rosalba
Litoral – Señora
Awards
APES Awards
Altazor Awards
Other awards
1995, National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts
1999, Rectoral Distinction Medal of the University of Chile
2002, Professor Pedro de la Barra Distinction Medal of Cultural Merit
2008, Viña del Mar International Film Festival Paoa Award
