SILVER MAYAHUEL
Dolores Heredia
Actress
With 40 years of experience as an actress and producer, she is considered one of the most versatile performers in the national film industry. She was born in La Paz, Baja California Sur. She studied drama at the Centro Universitario de Teatro de la UNAM and later at the Centro Internazionale di Studi Audiovisual (Lugano, Switzerland). In 1990 he joined the Centro de Experimentación Teatral del INBA with the play Sewing Machinesdirected by Luis de Tavira.
In film, he has been in more than 60 feature films with renowned directors such as Dark Cities by Fernando Sariñana, The Debt Collector by Paul Leduc, The Head of Juan Perez by Emilio Portes, the U.S. production Vantage Point by Peter Travis, Out of the Sky by Javier Patrón, and Rudo y cursi by Carlos Cuarón. He has also worked with Jorge Fons, Rodrigo Prieto, Rodrigo Plá, Alejandra Márquez Abella, Gerardo Tort, Gael García Bernal, Carlos Markovich, Roberto Sneider, Gabriel Retes, among others.
Internationally he has been seen in such productions as Right on Targetwhere he shared credits with Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker; Catch the Gringowhere he worked alongside Mel Gibson and Daniel Giménez Cacho; Two Men in Townin which he reprised his role with Forest Whitaker, as well as the film co-produced by Sweden, Mexico and Denmark, The Puma's Daughter by Asa Faringer and Hulf Hultberg.
His filmography includes the following films Two Crimes by Roberto Sneider, where he shared credits in 1995 with Damián Alcázar; Santitosdirected in 1999 by Alejandro Springall; Out of the Skya 2006 film in which he was seen working with Oscar nominee Demian Bichir, and Days of Gracedirected in 2011 by Everardo Gout.
On the small screen, she has participated in series that have captured the interest of the audience such as The Liberationfor Prime Video (Alejandra Márquez Abella); Señorita 89for Universal (Lucía Puenzo); Midnight Familyfor Apple TV (Natalia Beristáin); Diablerofor Netflix (Rigoberto Castañeda); Run Coyote Runfor Fox (Gustavo Loza); Here on Earth, for Fox (Gael García Bernal); Until I Met Youfor Disney, and Capadociafor HBO / Argos. The latter has led her to be nominated twice at the Monte Carlo Film Festival.
As a producer she founded Poramor Producciones, hand in hand with Daniele Finzi Pasca, from which have emerged collaborations with several theater companies. Also, from October 2015 to October 2017 she was the president of the Mexican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMACC) and of the Ibero-American Federation of Film Academies.
TRIBUTE FICG INDUSTRY
Mónica Lozano
Producer
Mónica Lozano Serrano, renowned Mexican producer with more than 24 years of experience and CEO of Alebrije Producciones, is part of the Mexican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMACC), which she chaired from 2019 to 2021. She was also president of the Mexican Association of Independent Producers.
For more than ten years, Monica was part of the Altavista Films team, a prolific production house that ventured into the most diverse film genres and established distribution and co-production alliances in the continent, in addition to building ties in Europe to build a distribution and participation network for films made in Mexico, a mission that she has continued in her company Alebrije Cine y Video. In addition, he has distributed more than 200 titles acquired by Estudio México Films.
With more than 40 credits, he has produced and co-produced some of the most internationally acclaimed Mexican films of the last decades, such as Amores Perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu, No refunds accepted by Eugenio Derbez, ¿Qué culpa tiene el niño? by Gustavo Loza, Impossible Things by Ernesto Contreras, Yesterday's Dream by Emilio Maille, Before I'm Dead Before I'm Married by Carlos González Sariñana, The Almost Idols of Bahía Colorada by Ricardo Castro, Sign Here by Enrique Sánchez, and Dad or Mom by Ernesto Contreras.
Her entrepreneurial vision has led her to actively collaborate with the Mexican government to promote actions aimed at improving film production, distribution and exhibition conditions in Mexico.
MAGUEY QUEER ICON AWARD
Daniela Vega
Actress
She is a Chilean actress, lyrical singer, writer and producer. Her leading role in A Fantastic Woman (2017) gave her international recognition, becoming the first Chilean film to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. She also made history by being the first transgender woman to present the Oscar Awards. In 2018, Time included her in its list of the 100 most influential personalities in the world.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Hollywood. He has participated in productions in Spanish, English and Italian, most notably in the series Tales of the City (USA), The Power (UK), La jauría (Chile), Érase una vez pero ya no ya (Spain) and La rebelión (Mexico). In film, her career includes Technoboys (Mexico), Futura (Italy), La visita and Run Over (Chile). She has also worked as a producer and was part of the documentary Peace, Peace, Now, Now, Now.
She is the author of Rebeldía, resistencia y amor (Editorial Planeta) and is preparing her next book.
Awarded Best Actress at festivals such as the 2018 Platino Awards (Mexico), the Palm Springs International Film Festival (USA) and the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana (Cuba), among others.
MAGUEY TRAJECTORY AWARD
Denisse Guerrero
Singer
Denisse Guerrero Flores, born August 8, 1980 in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, is an emblematic figure of Mexican electropop. From an early age she showed an inclination for music, participating in local singing events. Looking for more opportunities, she moved to Guadalajara to study fashion design, where she met Ricardo Arreola and Edgar Huerta, with whom she founded Belanova in 2000.
Belanova debuted in 2003 with the album Cocktail, but it was with Dulce Beat (2005) that they achieved fame, highlighting songs such as "Rosa Pastel", which became a generational anthem and resurfaced in popularity in 2023 thanks to TikTok . The band continued its success with albums such as Dulce Beat (2005), Fantasía Pop (2007), Sueño Electro I and II (2010-2011) and Viaje al Centro del Corazón (2018).
After a five-year hiatus due to personal and health challenges, Denisse returned to the stage in 2024 with Belanova, performing "Vida en Rosa Tour", her most successful tour to date with more than 40 shows in Mexico, the United States and Central America. She recently announced her solo career under the Universal Music label, alternating this project with Belanova.
Denisse Guerrero has not only been recognized for her distinctive voice and emotive lyrics, but also for her unique visual style, influenced by her background in fashion design, which has helped define the aesthetics of Spanish electropop.
MAYAHUEL INTERNATIONAL
Juan Antonio Bayona
Director
Juan Antonio Bayona (Barcelona, 1975) is an acclaimed Spanish filmmaker who has been a great success with international audiences and critics.
His first film, El orfanato, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (2007). At the 2008 Academy Awards, the film was nominated for 14 Goya Awards, winning seven of them, including Best New Director.
Bayona's second film was Lo imposible ( 2012), based on the tragic events following the Indian Ocean tsunami. The film won 5 Goya Awards, including Best Director.
In 2013, Bayona directed the first two episodes of Showtime's acclaimed and groundbreaking television series Penny Dreadful, starring Eva Green and with Sam Mendes and John Logan as executive producers.
That same year he received the National Cinematography Award.
His next film was A Monster Comes to See Me (2016), based on the bestseller of the same name by Patrick Ness. The film won nine Goya Awards, including, once again, Best Director.
In 2018, executive producer Steven Spielberg personally chose Bayona to direct Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
In September 2022, Bayona directed the first two episodes of the high-stakes fantasy drama series The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (Amazon Prime Video), for which he also served as executive producer.
His latest film, The Snow Society ( 2023), received numerous awards, including 12 Goya Awards and two Oscar nominations, including Best International Film. The Snow Society, recognized for its profound humanism and technical prowess, won twelve Goya Awards and is a testament to his mastery of the craft.
In 2024 he was invited to join the jury of the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival.
PORTUGAL, GUEST OF HONOR
Maria de Medeiros
Actress, director and singer
Maria de Medeiros is one of the most loved and admired figures in European cinema, music and culture. Born in Lisbon in 1965, daughter of composer António Victorino de Almeida and journalist Maria Armanda de Saint-Maurice, she grew up in an artistic environment that marked her destiny. Her childhood was spent between Austria and Portugal, and her training took her to Paris, where she studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre and the Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique.
Her career took off in 1990 with the role of Anaïs Nin in Henry & Juneand achieved international fame with her portrayal of Fabienne in Pulp Fiction (1994) by Quentin Tarantino. However, her talent goes beyond the screen. As a director, she stood out with Capitães de Abril (2000), a film that won her accolades in Cannes and São Paulo. Her 6 languages have allowed her to work in many countries, among them Mexico, where she starred in Dos Fridas (2018) by Ishtar Yasin and has done the post-production of her film Our Children (2023). Apart from her remarkable international career, even directing in Portugal, France and Brazil, Maria has released three albums that fuse jazz and Brazilian music, genres that have accompanied her since her adolescence.
Her commitment to peace and culture led her to be named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2008, recognizing her visibility, charisma and sensitivity to the great causes of the contemporary world.
Maria de Medeiros is a woman with a deep gaze, a warm voice and a generous heart. Her presence illuminates every project she touches, and her legacy is a testimony of passion, art and humanity. It is an honor for the Guadalajara International Film Festival to pay tribute to her and celebrate her contribution to world cinema and culture.