Fernandez was born in Coahuila, Mexico on March 26, 1904, and received the nickname “The Indian“, due to his mixed ancestry: Mexican, on the part of his father and indigenous on the part of his mother, descendant of the Kikapú Indians.
The future filmmaker grew up during the bloody Mexican Revolution. He dropped out of high school to become an officer in the Huertista rebels and, while still very young, received a 20-year prison sentence for having participated in the Adolfo de la Huerta rebellion in 1923, but escaped and emigrated to the United States. During the 1920s and early 1930s, he lived in Hollywood, digging ditches and working as an extra on movies.
Living far from Mexico filled him with a deep love for his country, a feeling that would later be reflected in his films. In 1933 he returned to his native country after being amnestied.
In 1934 Fernandez received his first leading role in the film “Janitzio“Because of his athletic build and Indian features, he was frequently chosen to play roles of Mexican revolutionaries, bandits, and cowboys.
The indigenismo movement of the 1930s, a movement that considers the native population as the ultimate representatives of Mexicanness, and its own mixed ancestry Fernandez, also influenced his approach.
“The Indian“He worked intensively during the 1940s, filming a number of films that were well received by audiences and critics including”Maria Candelaria“,”The Pearl” Y “Hidden River“. From “The Pearl“With the support of writer John Steinbeck, two versions of the film were made, one in Spanish and one in English.”Wild flower“for its part represents the first of many collaborative efforts between Fernandez, the director of photography Figueroa, the screenwriter Mauricio Magdaleno and the actors Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. This was the so-called “golden age” of Mexican cinema; the era in which Mexican films were distributed throughout Latin America. Fernández not only benefited from this success, he also created it to a great extent.
Fernandez received his highest award as a director with “Maria Candelaria“in 1943. The film tells the story of a young Indian who has been rejected by the people of his village, because his mother posed for a nude painting in her youth.”Maria Candelaria“was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946 and won the Grand Prix.
Fernandez He directed 17 other films between 1950 and 1956, ceased directing in the late 1950s, making films sporadically throughout the 1970s. His critics, however, claimed that his later work lacked the power of his best films. from the 1940s.
Over the course of his career, he directed 42 films, received 16 international awards, and won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946.
In his personal life, Fernandez he was married and divorced four times, had a son and two daughters.