Alicia Moreda (November 1, 1912-June 13, 1983) born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, was a soap opera actress, a natural comedian, and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television.
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Early years
Moreda was the youngest of three siblings born to Alberto Moreda and Catalina Tuya. Unlike her parents and two older sisters who were born in Galicia, Spain, Moreda was born in Puerto Rico. In 1921, her mother died and she was raised by her father and sisters. Moreda received her primary and secondary education at the Catholic school "Colegio La Milagrosa" in Mayagüez. At first she thought that she would like to become a nun, however after participating in a school play she decided that she would prefer to become an actress.[1]
Acting career
After she graduated from high school, Moreda auditioned for theatre roles and participated in many local productions. At first she would tell everyone that she was a Gallega (a person from Galicia, located in the north-western corner of Spain) and she was nicknamed "La Gallega". Besides theatre, she also made many presentations on radio. On March 28, 1954, Moreda participated in the first televised program in Puerto Rico, a comedy titled "El Caso de la Mujer Asesinadita" (The Case of the Assassinated Woman} alongside Mapy Cortés and Fernando Cortés which was transmitted by WKAQ-TV Telemundo Channel 2.[1] In 1960, she acted in "Casos y cosas de casa" (Cases and things of the house) with Braulio Castillo and Lillian Hurst. She also acted in the soap opera "La Gata" (The (female) Cat) and became very attached to the cat on the set. She then adopted many cats and dogs (which eventually caused local authorities to be concerned about their mutual well-being; one count put the number at 32 cats near the time of her death) and she named each one of the animals after a famous person.[1] Among the movies in which Moreda acted are the following: Romance en Puerto Rico (Romance in Puerto Rico) (1962), with Jose Miguel Agrelot, Bobby Capo and Luis Vigoreaux; Jucio contra un Angel (Judgement against an Angel) (1964), alongside Braulio Castillo and Luis Vigoreaux and Díos los Cría (God creates them) (1979) alongside Norma Candal, Gladys Rodríguez, Otilio Warrington, Esther Sandoval and director Jacobo Morales.[1]
Later years
She would always carry the flags of Spain and Puerto Rico wherever she went. At times when she would be hospitalized for any reason, she would request that if she ever died she would like to be buried with both flags.[1] Alicia Moreda died on June 13, 1985 of natural causes and was buried with her two flags in the cemetery of Mayagüez. Her epitaph reads "If I was born again, despite of all the hardships, I would want to be an actress again"
