Gerardo Taracena who was born in 1970 is a Mexican cinema and stage actor and dancer. He is well-known for his parts in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, The Mexican, Sin Nombre, and the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico where is better known as Pablo Acosta.
Taracena has left an everlasting impression on the cinema business, from his debut part in “Apocalypto”to his collaborations with prominent directors.
Quick Facts:
- Known For- Acting
- Known Credits- 58
- Gender- Male
- Birth year- 1970 (53 years old)
- Place of Birth- Mexico City, Mexico
GERARDO TARACENA BIOGRAPHY – Early Life
Taracena was born in Mexico City in 1970. Gerardo Taracena went on to study Dramatic Art at the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s University Centre of Theatre. From 1992 until 1996, he worked actively as a theatrical actor and dancer, and even performed in various theatre and dance festivals with the Peruvian dance company Integro de Peru as well as the Mexico City theatre troupe Teatro Mito.
Career
Gerardo Taracena is a Mexican actor known for his mesmerizing performances and exceptional talent. Taracena’s path in the entertainment world has been nothing short of spectacular, kicking off with humble beginnings in Mexico and culminating in international acclaim.
He has become a significant personality in both Hollywood and Mexican cinema due to his distinct blend of charisma, adaptability, and dedication to his art.
Overall, Gerardo is reported to have acted in over 30 theatrical acts and has participated in a wide range of festivals around Latin America.
Gerardo Taracena, a talented actor, established himself in both English and Mexican-language entertainment.
Before achieving fame, Gerardo Taracena was also a member of the theater company Teatro Mito. As of today, his film and television production has expanded in both Mexico and the United States.
Throughout the mid-’90s, Gerardo was engrossed in dance, frequently appearing with his dance troupe Integro and Teatro Mito but Taracena eventually found his way into film, making his first appearances in films such as “A Trickle of Blood”(1995) and “To and Fro”(2000).
‘The Mexican‘ and ‘The Violin‘
The next year, Taracena ultimately broke into English-language film with a modest role in “The Mexican”(2001), although it was already certain that he was going to remain a more prominent name in Mexican cinema after his role in the critically acclaimed movie “The Violin”(2005).
He made his big screen debut as a reveller to fire a gun in the 2001 American comedy picture The Mexican, featuring Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Ariane Pellicer, and many more. The Mexican turned out to be his first publicly acknowledged movie although he was not the star in the movie.
Francisco Vargas directed the 2005 Mexican drama film The Violin and casted Gerardo as Genaro. It was not the main role, but it was a major character. At the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, it was shown in the Un Certain Regard section.
Man On Fire (2004)
A year before starring in the hit movie The Violin, Gerardo played a minor role as an Executive Adjutant in the 2004 action thriller film ‘Man On Fire’ directed by Tony Scott from a screenplay by Brian Helgeland and based on A. J. Quinnell’s 1980 novel of the same name.
In the movie, Denzel Washington stars as John Creasy, a depressed, alcohol addict and former CIA SAD/SOG officer (and US Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance captain) turned bodyguard who goes on a vengeance murder spree after his charge, nine-year-old Lupita “Pita”Ramos (Dakota Fanning), is kidnapped in Mexico City.
Apocalypto (2006)
However, what brought Gerardo Tarcena more fame was the hit movie Apocalypto. For this, Taracena collaborated with director Mel Gibson the next year and played Middle Eye- a psychopathic warrior in the critically acclaimed “Apocalypto”(2006).
Mel Gibson produced, co-wrote, and directed the 2006 American epic historical action-adventure film Apocalypto. There are popular Native American and Indigenous Mexican actors in the film including Youngblood and Dalia Hernández.
Apocalypto is set in Yucatán in 1511 and depicts the hero’s journey of a young guy named Jaguar Paw, a late Mesoamerican hunter, and his fellow tribesmen who are taken by an invading troop.
After their village is destroyed, they are forced to embark on a treacherous trek to a Mayan city for human sacrifice during a time when the Mayan civilization is in decline.
The film was a box office triumph, grossing $120 million worldwide and receiving favorable reviews that praised Gibson’s direction, Dean Sembler’s cinematography, the performance of the cast and the depiction of the Mayan culture.
Sin Nombre (2009) and ‘Saving Private Perez’ (2011)
He made another impression as Horacio in the international smash “Sin Nombre”(2009), before wowing audiences with a comedic act in the comedy-western “Saving Private Perez”(2011). For this movie, he co-starred with fellow Mexican actor Jaime Camil.
Sin nombre, which translates to Nameless in English, is a 2009 adventure thriller film written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga about a Honduran girl seeking to journey to the United States and a young boy tangled up in the violence of gang life.
Saving Private Perez is a Mexican Western comedy film directed by Beto Gómez that was released in 2011. The plot revolves around a Mexican organized crime boss who is ordered by his mother to rescue his brother, a US Marine Private fighting in Iraq.
Gerardo acts as a Native Indigenous tomato farmer who is recruited by the gangster alongside his best friend, two older veterans; and a convicted murderer who is liberated from jail, for the mission.
Later Movie Features
After reuniting with Gibson for “Get the Gringo”(2012), Taracena played Manuel Flores in the History Channel mini-series “Texas Rising”(History Channel, 2015). In 2016, he was cast as vicious drug lord Cesar ‘Batman’ Guemes in the crime thriller series “Queen of the South”(USA, 2016-)
He also featured in the 2016 Mexican Comedy film’¿Qué culpa tiene el niño?’ where he played Plutarco. In 2017, he played the character Dionisio in Dionisio Juglar and gave the same energy which got him more fame in the 2018 underground fighting drama film Cafe Con Leche, portraying the character Eduardo Manrique.
Sound of Freedom (2023) and Presencias (2022)
Sound of Freedom is a 2023 American crime thriller film scripted and directed by Alejandro Monteverde and starring Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former United States government agent who embarks on an operation to retrieve kids who have been kidnapped by sex traffickers in Colombia.
Gerard Tarcena features as El Alacrán (“The Scorpion”) giving a spectacular performance as an FARC leader who holds Rocío captive and makes her his personal sex slave.
Before this, in 2022, Gerardo Taracena offered his touch to the Mexican horror thriller film Presencias where he portrays the character Don Jaime. Although the Critical Reception was not positive with the reason being that the story was full of clichès and was sped up towards the end, the movie won various accolades in the 2023Diosas de Plata awards.
Apart from Sound of Freedom, Gerardo has featured in these unreleased movies From Inside
as Juan Infante, Sobreviviendo mis XV as Melchor, Heroes as Capitán Alvarado, and in Chupa as Police Officer.
Television Roles
Gerardo Taracena has featured in 13 television shows from 2007-2022. His most notable shows are; the 2016-2017 American Crime drama series ‘Queen of the South where he plays Caesar ‘Batman’ Guemes in 11 episodes; and Narcos: Mexico (2018-2022) featuring Pablo Acosta, the main character in its 11 episodes.
Narcos: Mexico is a Netflix original crime drama series written and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro that aired on November 16, 2018. It revolves about the growth of Mexico’s illegal drug trade.
Gerard also plays Benito Infante, a brother to Elvis Infante, a legendary demon hunter in Morena Films’ Diablero is a Mexican television web series made for Netflix. Two years later, he was contracted for a part in Dale Gas (2022) to play the recurring role of Abel in 9 episodes.
Overall, Gerardo has had an impressive filmography and there is still space for more as this 53 year old looks like he is going nowhere anytime soon.
Personal Life
As it turns out, Gerardo Taracena is not much of a social media person and so, not much can be found about his personal life outside acting. He is possibly single and there are no records of his dating history.
He has also not mentioned any plans to get married in the near future. Close to nothing is also known about his parenthood, family, children or relatives.
All he speaks of is his career and future plans in the movie industry. Of this, it is known he has appeared in a number of critically and commercially acclaimed television programmes. According to some online sources, the average hourly wage for an American actor is $39.84.
Gerardo Taracena’s net worth as of 2019 is $2 million. Working in the entertainment sector for almost two decades, the actor has amassed a substantial fortune that is growing by the day.
