Yolanda Varela was passionate about acting and dancing but at the best point of her career, her success stopped.
Some actresses from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema decided to leave their careers when it began its decline, others were even forced to do so at an advanced age when their health no longer allowed them to continue between the sets. None of these was the case with Yolanda Varela, who in her prime as an actress retired to give all her time to her family.
From a very young age, Yolanda was attracted to the world of entertainment, classical dance was her passion, so she began to study at the National Institute of Performing Arts. Her bearing, beauty, and discipline allowed her to make her way among other young women, earning the attention of producer Miguel Morayta, with whom she made her debut in the film Recuerdos de mi Valle (1946) when she was only 16 years old.
Although her first time in her cinema was not with a great role and did not lead to her resounding success, she did allow her face to reach the filmmaker Ismael Rodríguez.
In 1952 the young woman obtained her first leading role with one of the most important films of the Golden Age and one of Rodríguez's most ambitious projects, Two Kinds of Care. Along with Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, Varela drew national attention and since then her successes began.
Yolanda even starred in the Idol of Guamúchil in her last film before her tragic death, Escuela de Rateros, but she was no longer looking for fame, rather she wanted to find true love.
During the filming of What Happened to Sansón (1955), a film in which she starred alongside Germán Valdés Tin Tan and Ana Berta Lepe, she met Fernando de Fuentes Reyes, producer and son of the famous filmmaker Fernando de Fuentes.
Both would have established a very good friendship, which over the months became a romance. For five years they maintained a courtship, which is why Yolanda had to reject many suitors who came to take revenge against her and make an attempt on her life.
Also in those five years, she managed to participate in more than 20 films, many of them with stellar roles.
However, Varela and De Fuentes decided to take the next step in their relationship and walked down the aisle in 1960. After having experienced their wedding, which was one of the most important events of that year, he wanted to rest from the cameras in the middle of the that it was the best moment of his career to enjoy his marriage.
Although it was not her withdrawal, Ismael Rodríguez had to convince her to return to the cinema. She couldn't reject him, having been one of the key filmmakers in her career. Thanks to the director's invitation, she returned to the sets four years after temporarily saying goodbye to them. She and Ismael worked together in Berlin, Germany, for the film The Boy and the Wall (1965), and again hid from the cameras.
The Boy and the Wall was a film that was very successful abroad and won several awards at film festivals, once again positioning her as one of the actresses with the most job offers, but the histrionics refused to return to the cameras after this one.
Yolanda announced that she would dedicate herself completely to her husband, and she did so. With him, she had her four children, for whom she was always present.
Six years later, she returned to the big screen with Mauricio Garcés in The Bachelor's Department, this being her last leading role, because after that film she only agreed to make two small appearances in other films until she turned 58. She passed away at the age of 79 from a cerebral embolism.
