Francis (1958-2007)
Alias:
Francisco del Carmen García Escalante
Birthplace:
Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
Born:
April 6, 1958
Died:
October 10, 2007
Francisco Del Carmen García Escalante was born on April 8, 1958 in San Francisco de Campeche, Campeche, Mexico Son of Zula Escalante and musician Francisco Garcia Jesus. Francisco's father abandoned him and his mother shortly before Francisco was born. Francisco was raised by his mother and his aunt Zoila, who was a garment maker. Francisco's mother was always supportive of her son's sexual orientation, and despite the community's remarks, she never criticized her son's taste for feminine objects and garments. Although he was teased and beaten at school, he was always interested in doing well in school. Francisco began to be fascinated by the nightlife of the vedettes and when the brothers Enrique and Juan Imperio, film and Blanquita Theater choreographers, were preparing the cast of the movie Bellas de noche (1975), they hired a group of transvestites in which Francisco was part of. Francisco began to use the stage name "Francis" and started to work in the night show. He joined a transvestite group called "Las Femmes". Months later, Francis decides to create his own show: The Francis Show. For fifteen years, his transvestite show packed the box office of the Blanquita Theater in the Mexican capital and other venues, in addition to touring throughout Mexico and the United States with great success. Francis' show was innovative at the time; he imposed a different style based on elegance, glamour and spectacularity. He created a Las Vegas style show. Parallel to his show, Francis participated in some Mexican movies such as Los relajados (1989), De super macho a super hembra (1989) and the musical Teto, música y travestis (1995). In television, she participated in three episodes of the episodic show Mujer, casos de la vida real, produced by Silvia Pinal. In 1998, she joined the cast of the Mexican telenovela Vivo por Elena, produced by Juan Osorio for Televisa. In 2000, she was one of the hosts of the talk show Hasta en las mejores familias, also for Televisa. Between 2002 and 2003, Francis was part of the television show Desde Gayola, produced by Horacio Villalobos for Telehit. In 2003, she played a small role in the Italian film My Father, Rua Alguem 5555, starring Charlton Heston. Her last performance was a special appearance in the telenovela La fea más bella (2006). In early October 2007, Francis complained of severe pain in her back while performing her show in the city of Puebla. As her discomfort worsened, she was taken to a hospital in Mexico City, where she also had difficulty breathing. Hours later she went into a coma due to a pulmonary thrombosis. Francis passed away on October 10, 2007 at the age of 49 in Mexico City.