#themexicanspitfire

María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (1908–1944) began her career in Mexican vaudeville. Moving to the United States “Lupe” made her first film appearance in 1927 and eventually appeared with such stars as Gary Cooper and Jimmy Durante. Nicknamed “The Mexican Spitfire” her personal life was as colorful as her on-screen persona and at only 36 she took her own life, three months after discovering she was pregnant. In 2014 artist Kevin Bate memorialized Vélez at McCallie and Greenwood Avenues in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The work is part of the McCallie Walls Project curated by Bate and transforming the neighborhood into a drive-through gallery.  @goodwithfaces​