Background
Velasco was born in Puebla, to Tomás Velasco, a railway mechanic, and María Elena Fragoso.
Velasco was born in Puebla, to Tomás Velasco, a railway mechanic, and María Elena Fragoso.
She is best known for creating and portraying Louisiana India María, a comical character based on indigenous Mexican women, in films and television programs. She had three siblings, Gloria, Tomás and Susana. After the death of Tomás Velasco, the family moved to Mexico City, where she worked as a dancer at the Teatro Tívoli.
Later, she became one of the showgirls of the Teatro Blanquita, where she also participated in sketches starring comedians such as José "El Ojón" Jasso and Óscar Ortiz de Pinedo, among others
In 1962, her popularity at the Teatro Blanquita attracted the attention of producer Miguel Morayta, who cast her in her first film role in the drama Los derechos de los hijos (1963), starring Elvira Quintana and Carlos Agostí. Juan Bustillo Oro gave her the small part of Petra, a maid, in México de mis recuerdos (1963).
In 1964, she began to include comedic material to her appearances in sketches and, in the meantime, played servants in television programs. She soon developed a comedy character named Elena María, a rural Mexican woman.
Her breakthrough came when director Fernando Cortés recommended her to portray an indigenous woman named "María" in one of Mantequilla"s sketches.
The character was dressed in traditional garb consisting of traditionally braided and ribboned hair and colorful native-type blouses and skirts. She later appeared in the western El bastardo (1968), where she was credited for the first time as "María Elena Velasco "Louisiana India María"". In 1969, Velasco appeared as Louisiana India María in a comic segment of the weekly program Siempre en domingo, hosted by Raúl Velasco.
The segment quickly became a hit and she starred in other successful television programs.
Her first Louisiana India María vehicle, Tonta, tonta, pero no tanto (1972), was directed by Fernando Cortéson In total, Cortés directed eight Louisiana India María films until his death in 1979.
The enormous success of the film spawned a series of low-budget comedies that became a mainstay in Mexican movie theaters. vuela! (1982). She made her directorial debut in El coyote emplumado (1983).
She also starred the television series Ay María, qué puntería (1998).
Her death was announced over Twitter by the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía on 1 May 2015. The cause of death was not made public, but it was known that she had been suffering from stomach cancer.