Gabriel Figueroa

Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (*April 24, 1907 Mexico City - April 27, 1997 Mexico City) was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood.His mother died after giving birth to him and his father, unable to cope with the loss of his wife, left Gabriel and his brother Roberto to be cared for by their aunts. He studied painting at the Academia de San Carlos and at the age of 16 he became interested in photography thanks to Jose Guadalupe Velasco. He later befriended others...See more

Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (*April 24, 1907 Mexico City - April 27, 1997 Mexico City) was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood.His mother died after giving birth to him and his father, unable to cope with the loss of his wife, left Gabriel and his brother Roberto to be cared for by their aunts. He studied painting at the Academia de San Carlos and at the age of 16 he became interested in photography thanks to Jose Guadalupe Velasco. He later befriended others in the profession such as Gilberto and Raul Martinez Solares. These three would then move on to cinematography.Gabriel made his entry in the movie industry in 1932 as a photographer of stills for the film Revolucion of Miguel Contreras Torress. He was later one of the 20 cinematographers hired for the Howard Hawks film Viva Villa!. After a few jobs he obtained a scholarship to study in the United States where he was taught by Gregg Toland his own style of lighting techniques.Back in Mexico, his first film was Fernando de Fuentes's Alla en el Rancho Grande (1936) which would become one of the most popular films in Mexico and Latin America, and gave him his first award at the Venice Film Festival. He filmed more than 200 movies, including Los olvidados (directed by Luis Bunuel), and The Night of the Iguana (directed by John Huston). See less