The segment quickly became a hit and she starred in other successful television programs. In 1969, Velasco appeared as La India María in a comic segment of the weekly program Siempre en domingo, hosted by Raúl Velasco (who is unrelated to María Elena). She later appeared in the western El bastardo (1968), where she was credited for the first time as "María Elena Velasco 'La India María'". In an effort to make her portrayal more authentic, she observed the gestures and mannerisms of indigenous women her own mother made dresses for the character. The character was dressed in traditional garb consisting of traditionally braided and ribboned hair and colorful native-type blouses and skirts. Her breakthrough came when director Fernando Cortés recommended her to portray an indigenous woman named "María" in one of Mantequilla's sketches. She soon developed a comedy character named Elena María, a rural Mexican woman. In 1964, she began to include comedic material to her appearances in sketches and, in the meantime, played servants in television programs. Juan Bustillo Oro gave her the small part of Petra, a maid, in México de mis recuerdos (1963).
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. 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. Īfter the death of Tomás Velasco, the family moved to Mexico City, where she worked as a dancer at the Teatro Tívoli. She had three siblings, Gloria, Tomás and Susana. Velasco was born in Puebla, to Tomás Velasco Saavedra, a railway mechanic, and María Elena Fragoso Peón. She is best known for creating and portraying La India María, a comical character based on indigenous Mexican women. La India María as a stereotype no longer just affirms the predominant mode of representation of the indigenous woman, but offers self-reflexive counter-images to certain spectators.María Elena Velasco Fragoso (17 December 1940 – ) was a Mexican actress, comedian, singer-songwriter and dancer. I insist on the mode of "ironic" or "counter" reading, which results in a shift of meaning.
Other determinations besides the filmic text will be taken into consideration in order to raise the question of how different spectators might read the established stereotype. The films will be examined and four story formulas will be proposed. This contribution sketches out different aspects of the indigenous woman as a filmic stereotype focusing on character traits, performance, dialogues, and embodiment. On the other hand, her films have tended to be dismissed by film critics as reactionary and ethnically discriminating. Until today, her films continue to be popular with Mexican audiences and immigrants living in the United States. María Elena Velasco played La India María as the starring role in 15 comedies, had her appearances on different TV-Shows, and in the theater. Since the 1970s "La India María" has become Mexico's most popular indigenous female media character.
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