Itatí Cantoral is a Mexican actress, singer, dancer, and producer. She is best known for her roles as Soraya Montenegro in Televisa's telenovelaMaría la del Barrio and as Alejandra Álvarez del Castillo Fernández "La Licenciada" in Televisa's telenovela Hasta que el dinero nos separe. On November 18, 2015, Cantoral was named Mr. Amigo, which is an association in Brownsville, Texas that honors a Mexican citizen each year to promote international friendship and good will between the U.S. and Mexico. Itatí is the second member of the Cantoral family to be awarded Mr. Amigo after her father, Roberto Cantoral, was awarded in 1981. Her maldita lisiada scene in María la del Barrio has become an internet meme.
Early life and education
Cantoral was born in Mexico City, D.F., Mexico. She is the daughter of Mexican composer and songwriter, Roberto Cantoral, and Argentine actress of Italian descent, Itatí Zucchi. Cantoral has three brothers Carlos, Roberto & also actor and singer José Cantoral. A child actress, at 13, Cantoral was accepted into the Televisa actors' academy, Centro de Educación Artística, and made her television debut in the series La telaraña in 1986. Later, acting in the telenovela Muchachitas in 1991, led to work in theatre of Mexico City.
Career
In 1993, Cantoral appeared in Dos mujeres, un camino with Puerto RicanErik Estrada, Laura León, Bibi Gaytán, Lorena Herrera, Selena Quintanilla, Jorge Salinas, and members of Grupo Bronco. This production exposed her to wider audiences in Mexico and Latin America. She took the role of the villain Soraya Montenegro in "María la del Barrio" in 1995/6, acting with Thalía and Fernando Colunga. TV appearances in 1996/97 were for Tú y yo, acting with Maribel Guardia and Joan Sebastian, and Salud, dinero y amor, the sequel to another Mexican telenovela, El premio mayor. In 2001, Cantoral played the female villain "Raquel Villavicencio" in Televisa's Sin Pecado Concebido, a production that included Angelica Rivera, and Carlos Ponce. She played in the Brazilian production Vale todo in 2002, and in 2003, Telemundo's El alma herida, as a teenage girl who crosses the Mexican-US border to find her long-lost mother. In 2004, she was Sally Bowles in Mexico City's Teatro Insurgentes production of Cabaret, and in 2006, starred with Francisco Gattorno in the Telemundo production of Julio Jimenez's La Viuda de Blanco, the story of a beautiful woman unjustly imprisoned, returning to Trinidad in search of, and to reclaim, her past. In 2009–2010, she gave life to the character of "Alejandra Alvarez Del Castilo" in Televisa's hit telenovela Hasta que el dinero nos separe with actor and singer Pedro Fernández, for which she won Best Actress. The telenovela won the Premios Tvynovelas for Best Telenovela of the Year and Best Couple of the Year. Cantoral has protagonized many famous plays in Mexican theatre, such as Aventurera, Sweet Charity, Mame the Musical and many more. Recently, in 2018, she starred as Silvia Pinal in the hit bio series Silvia Pinal, Frente a Ti, for which she is nominated as Best Actress in a TV series for the Premios Tvynovelas. As a singer, Itatí Cantoral has released two discographies, one of them being 'Itatí Canta a Roberto Cantoral', which was produced by her late father Roberto Cantoral. In 2018, she was part of the CD tribute to her father "Roberto Cantoral: Siempre Vivo" with the song 'Me Esta Gustando'.
Personal life
Cantoral met her first husband Eduardo Santamarina at CEA Televisa where they were classmates. In 1992 they first began to work together in De Frente al Sol. Five years later, in 1997, they were the main protagonists of Salud, Dinero y Amor where their love story began. Cantoral and Santamarina dated for about two years. They had a civil wedding on September 18, 1999, and four months later they got married in church on January 22, 2000; a couple of days before the wedding they announced that she was pregnant with twins. She gave birth to their twin boys Eduardo & Roberto Miguel on August 3, 2000. After 5 years of marriage in mid 2004 they announced their separation; their divorce was finalized six months later. While working on La Viuda de Blanco she began a personal association with producer Carlos Alberto Cruz, and they legalized their relationship in a private ceremony in 2008. On October 9, 2008 she gave birth to their daughter María Itatí.. Their love story ended in 2017, when Cantoral and Cruz officially announced their divorce.
