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Bárbara Mujica
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Miss del Río: A Novel of Dolores del Río, the First Major Latina Star in Hollywood Kindle Edition

by Bárbara Mujica (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 68 ratings
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“Dolores del Río bursts to life in this vivid, well-researched portrayal. Her iconic feline elegance and brash spirit dominates every page, but it’s her defiance to live life on her own terms that sets her apart—and what an extraordinary life she led.”—C.W. Gortner, bestselling author of Marlene

1910, Mexico. As the country’s revolution spreads, Dolores, the daughter of a wealthy banker, must flee her comfortable life in Durango or risk death. Her family settles in Mexico City, where, at sixteen, she marries the worldly Jaime del Río. But in a twist of fate, at a party she meets an influential American director who recognizes in her a natural performer. He invites her to Hollywood, and practically overnight, the famous Miss del Río is born.

Dolores’s star quickly rises, and her days become a whirlwind of moviemaking and glamorous events. Swept up in L.A.'s glitzy inner circle, she takes her place among film royalty such as Marlene Dietrich and Orson Welles. But as her career soars, her personal life becomes increasingly complicated, with family tragedy, divorce, and real heartache. And when she’s labeled box office poison amid growing prejudice before WWII, Dolores must decide what price she’s willing to pay to achieve her dreams and if her heart and future instead lie where it all began…in Mexico.

Spanning half a century and narrated by Dolores’s fictional hairdresser and longtime friend, Miss del Río traces the life of a trailblazing woman whose legacy in Hollywood and in Mexico still shines bright today.

“Bárbara Mujica dazzles us.... She takes us on a journey through an era of wars and movies, and unforgettable characters that made Hollywood what it is today.” —María Amparo Escandón, New York Times bestselling author of L.A. Weather
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  1. Print length
    428 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Graydon House
  5. Publication date
    October 4, 2022
  6. File size
    1257 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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From the Publisher

She was known as the most beautiful woman in the world—Dolores del Río was more than a pretty face.

“A well-researched portrayal of her challenging life during Hollywood’s golden era.”—C.W. Gortner

Book cover of Miss del Río by Bárbara Mujica

“Bárbara Mujica dazzles us once again.”—María Amparo Escandón

"NEW FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FRIDA BÁRBARA MUJICA"

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dolores del Río bursts to life in this vivid, well-researched portrayal of her challenging life during Hollywood's golden era. Her iconic feline elegance and brash spirit dominates every page, but it's her defiance to live life on her own terms that sets her apart--and what an extraordinary life she led.

-- "C.W. Gortner, author of Marlene"

Mujica dazzles us once again, telling the story of another great Mexican woman. She takes us on a journey through an era of wars and movies, and unforgettable characters that made Hollywood what it is today.

-- "María Amparo Escandón, New York Times bestselling author"

About the Author

Bárbara Mujica is the bestselling author of four novels, including Frida, which was translated into 17 languages. She is also an award-winning short story writer and essayist whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Miami Herald, among others. A professor emerita of Spanish at Georgetown University, she lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09P1NH1WQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Graydon House (October 4, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 4, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1257 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 428 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 68 ratings

About the author

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Bárbara Mujica

Bárbara Mujica

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Barbara (Bárbara) Mujica, from Los Angeles, California, is a professor of Spanish literature emerita at Georgetown University. Her latest novel is MISS DEL RIO, is based on the life of Dolores del Río, Mexico's first female international film star. I AM VENUS, based on the enigma of the Rokeby Venus, the only extant nude of Spanish painter Diego de Velazquez. Her novel FRIDA was an international bestseller that appeared in eighteen languages. Depicting the tumultuous relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, FRIDA was a Book-of-the-Month Club alternate. Mujica's novel SISTER TERESA, based on the life of Saint Teresa de Avila, was adapted for the stage by Coco Blignaut of the Actors Studio in Los Angeles. Mujica's other book-length fiction includes THE DEATHS OF DON BERNARDO (novel), SANCHEZ ACROSS THE STREET (stories), FAR FROM MY MOTHER'S HOME (stories), and IMAGINING IRAQ (stories). Mujica has written several scholarly books, among them TERESA DE AVILA, LETTERED WOMAN, TERESA DE JESUS: MISTICISMO Y FEMINISMO, and WOMEN RELIGIOUS AND EPISTOLARY EXCHANGE IN THE CARMELITE REFORM: THE DISCIPLES OF TERESA DE AVILA. Her edited volumes include: WOMEN WRITERS OF EARLY MODERN SPAIN: SOPHIA'S DAUGHTERS; A NEW ANTHOLOGY OF EARLY MODERN SPANISH THEATER: PLAY AND PLAYTEXT; STAGING AND STAGE DECOR: EARLY MODERN SPANISH THEATER; and COLLATERAL DAMAGE: WOMEN WRITE ABOUT WAR.

I AM VENUS was a winner in the 2012 Maryland Writers' Association fiction competition in the Historical Fiction division and was a quarter-finalist in the 2020 ScreenCraft Cinematic Novel Fiction Competition. IMAGINING IRAQ was selected as "one of the favorites of 2021" by Washington Independent Review of Books. Three of Mujica's short stories have been winners of the Maryland Writers' Association National Fiction Competition: "Jason's Cap" (first prize 2015), "Ox" (second prize 2016), and "Imagining Iraq" (third prize 2010). Her story "Ahmed the Tailor" was a quarter-finalist in the 2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Story Story Competition. Mujica has also won the Trailblazers Award from Dialogue on Diversity, the Pangolin Prize for Fiction, the Theodore Christian Hoepfner Award, and the E. L. Doctorow International Fiction Competition. Mujica is an Artist-in-Residence" at the Braid Theater in Los Angeles.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
68 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Chris Beakey
5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging and heartfelt story of beautiful lives
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
Miss Del Rio is a fascinating story about the power of friendship and a telling chronicle of the evolution of American and Mexican film as seen through the eyes of a wise woman narrator watching it all from the periphery. It's full of colorfully immersive scenes that read as glimpses into the lives of famous people we've learned about in many different contexts, as experienced by two women - Dolores and her lifelong friend, Mara, who tells the story with humor and with a frank and honest voice. Some people will enjoy this for those glimpses into the lives of the stars and star-makers. Others will relish what reads like a firsthand account of world-changing political turmoil. It's a major accomplishment and a prime example of why the best history lessons are taught through evocotive storytelling that brims with simple truths.
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Diane
4.0 out of 5 stars For fans of All the Stars in the Heavens and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022
I enjoy a good historical fiction, especially if the subject is based on a real person. Bárbara Mujica's historical novel Miss del Río, is a fictionalized account of the life of Mexican actress Dolores del Río, who appeared in many Hollywood movies in the 1920s- 1940s, and became the first major Latina actress to find stardom there.

Dolores del Río led a privileged life in Durango, Mexico in 1910 as a young child. Her family had ties to high government officials, and her father was a wealthy banker. When revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa burned down expensive villas, Dolores escaped with her family to California.

The beautiful Dolores met a director at a party who saw potential in her, and Dolores was on her way to appearing in motion pictures. Dolores' husband Jaime wanted to be a screenwriter, but his career did not take off like Dolores' did.

Dolores was drawn to the glamour of Hollywood, but as a beautiful woman, she was also subject to its abuses by powerful men. While her professional life was blossoming, and she sucessfully made the transition from silent movie to "talkies", her private life was less than happy. She had a series of marriages that didn't work out as she didn't always choose her mates wisely.

Dolores' story is narrated by her childhood friend Mara, who later became her hairdresser. (Mara is a fictional character.) Mara also fled Mexico, and the contrast between Dolores' life and Mara's life fuels much of this intriguing story. Mara had a happy marriage to a man she loved, and they had several children together. Dolores longed for children, but it was not meant to be. Mara and her husband struggled financially, Dolores had plenty of money. Mara was torn by her love and appreciation for Dolores and her disappointment in the way Dolores lived her life.

As her success in Hollywood waned, Dolores moved back to Mexico. She became a big part of the Mexican film industry, making movies about subjects that mattered to her, instead of playing the stereotypical roles she was being offered in Hollywood. She had her share of dealings with difficult filmmakers in Mexico as well.

Plenty of famous people make cameos in Miss del Río. Dolores was good friends with Marlene Dietrich, had a torrid love affair with Orson Welles, and became enchanted with Frida Kahlo when she returned to Mexico. (Mujica wrote a fantastic historical novel Frida as well that led to Miss del Río.)

A good historical fiction always has me wanting more, and I immediately began to search out more information on Dolores del Río. If you liked Adriana Trigiani's All The Stars In The Heavens and Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, (I loved both) you'll want to read Miss del Río. It's also a great read for Hispanic Heritage Month.
2 people found this helpful
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Reader KA
3.0 out of 5 stars Life And Career Of Dolores Del Rio.
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2023
I had never heard of Dolores Del Rio before buying this book last year. Through historical fiction, the story explored Dolores Del Rio's life and the history of Hollywood.
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Amazon Customer. Rocky Recio!
5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024
Verified Purchase
I unfortunately had never heard of Dolores Del Rio but I totally enjoyed this book about her. So interesting to read I didn't want to put it down. I recommend this book to all the Latino generation! & others that knew or didn't know about this beautiful lady!!
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kathleen g
4.0 out of 5 stars enlightening historical fiction
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2022
Mara, the friend and hairdresser of Delores Del Rio-Lola- tells their story in this tale of the early days of Hollywood. This focuses more on her life in film than it does on her life in Mexico. Lola left Mexico to become a silent film star but found she had evolve to "talkies." She lived a big life in so many ways with multiple relationships (including with Orson Wells) and a return to Mexico. The device of using a fictional friend sort of worked- Mara has her own story to tell as well- but it seemed to me that this glossed over Lola's life in spots. It's well written, I learned a great deal (I spent some time googling people), and it's enlightening. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.
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adamax
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing story
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2023
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Excellent book. I laughed I cried I got mad and sad. I really didn't want this book to end. What an incredible read. It was definitely hard to put down. I was 100% interested from start to finish. What a life she had
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Katie
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible story - A life worth reading about
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2022
Ms. Mujica has an incredible ability to weave together real life events with an engaging (and juicy!) story. I loved her book, Frida, but was overwhelmed by how much I loved her most recent book about Dolores del Rio - an individual I had never heard of. Between that and knowing very little about early Hollywood, I had no idea what to expect but it captivated me from the beginning - weaving in people I've heard of (Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda) while introducing me to a new set of interesting early Hollywood stars. Given Mujica’s earlier book - it was especially fun to read about Frida and Del Rio’s friendship over the years. The book read like a great fiction and yet I learned a ton - specifically about the Mexican Revolution.

Ms. Mujica writes from the point of view of Dolores' (fictional) best friend, Mara, which allows us to get a great sense of Dolores' complexity, flaws, charm - all of the things that made her an amazing leading lady both on the screen (and in a book)! I will say though, I found Mara to be my favorite character and enjoyed learning about del Rio through her eyes. All to say - I couldn't put it down - highly recommend.
One person found this helpful
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Paula Fay Morris
1.0 out of 5 stars Just a So So Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2023
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If you are really interested in Hollywood before and during WWWII then you might like this book. I think the writing is poor. The author uses a fictional character to tell the story of the real Delores Del Rio. The fictional character has a bit of mystery to her and personally I found her character more interesting that Miss Del Rio. Had it not been our book club pick, I would have put this book back on the shelf and it would have gone in the category DNF (Do Not Finish).
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