Joaquin Cordero Dead: Mexican Legendary Actor Dies At 89

Mexican actor Joaquin Cordero has died on Tuesday, February 19 at the age of 89 of an apparent respiratory arrest.

The star of hundreds of films and soap operas, including most recently "Fuego en la Sangre", "Destilando Amor" and "La Madrastra", died quietly at home while sleeping and apparently without pain, accompanied by his sons Antonio, Gabriel and David.

A couple of weeks ago local reports said Cordero had been hospitalized in southern Mexico City for a stroke. However, his daughter-in-law Claudia Cordero later clarified that the legendary actor was instead being treated for a deep depression.

Some of Joaquin Cordero's work in video. (Text continues below.)

"He is very depressed, he hasn’t been able to overcome the death of his wife, which occurred six months ago," Claudia Cordero said to El Informador. "What concerns us is his unwillingness to live, not wanting to eat and crying a lot."

"We hospitalized him so doctors could evaluate him and basically to help us cheer him up with medication. Fortunately he is doing better, he's in good spirit and says he will do his part," she added.

It was in July of last year when Joaquin lost his wife Alma Guzmán, whom he had called the "love of his life" after 62 years of marriage.

"It's beautiful I still get excited after 60 years of loving her, she still makes my tummy ache, she is the woman of my life," he had said in an interview with TV Notas.

"If she is not with me, I'm not worth anything anymore," he had also said to the magazine after the death of his beloved wife.

Cordero was certainly one of the first well recognized actors in Mexico, and was part of the great generation of actors in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Yesterday his three children were at his wake in a funeral home in Mexico City.

Take a look at Joaquin Cordero’s work above.