Emilio "El Indio" Fernández (born Emilio Fernández Romo, [eˈmiljo feɾˈnandes ˈromo]; March 26, 1904 – August 6, 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best known for his work as director of the film Maria Candelaria, which won the Palme d'Or award at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. As an actor, he worked in numerous film productions of Mexico and also in Hollywood.

Biography

He met a Cuban girl of 16 years old, who would be his first wife in 1941: Gladys Fernandez. Their relationship was affected by the Emilio's desire for Hollywood diva Dolores del Rio, an idyllic ghost present in the life of the actor. Gladys ended up abandoning. With her, he had a daughter, the writer Adela Fernández y Fernández.

His most stable relationship was with Columba Domínguez. They were together for seven years. The relationship collapsed because Columba "rebelled". Furthermore, Columba was pregnant and he did not want more children. She decided to have it without their consent and the breakup was brutal. His daughter, named Jacaranda, died in 1978 falling from the top of a building.

He had other brief marriages with Gloria Cabiedes and a girl named Beatriz.

Fernandez was deeply in love with the British actress Olivia de Havilland, whom he never met. Fernandez asked the then president of Mexico Miguel Aleman to prolong a street in Coyoacán to his mansion to then name it Sweet Olivia. Thus, he always had near and symbolically (turned into street), always at his feet.

After the death of Fernandez, a lawsuit broke out between his daughter Adela and Columba Domínguez. Adela was named sole heir of his father and took possession of his house, an impressive fortress in the neighborhood of Coyoacán, in Mexico City, which Columba claimed as her own. And, according to Columba, Adela was not a biological daughter of Fernández. Fernandez adopted her when she was abandoned by her mother. Adela's death in 2013 left the legal situation unclear.

The House-Fortress of Fernández, run by his daughter Adela (until her death in 2013), became a room dedicated to various cultural activities of Mexico City, and has served as a backdrop for filming over one hundred Mexican and foreign films.

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