Mexican actor Gerardo Taracena, known for his role in Apocalypto, died on January 31 at age 55 from a myocardial infarction. His friend Enrique Cueva revealed he suffered from controlled hypertension with medication. The news shocked family and colleagues in the film industry.
Unexpected death of Gerardo Taracena
Gerardo Taracena, born in 1970 in Mexico City, died on Saturday, January 31, around 3:20 p.m. at his daughter's home. According to close friend and fellow actor Enrique Cueva, Taracena was not hospitalized when he experienced health issues. The National Association of Actors (ANDA) confirmed the news on Instagram: “The ANDA deeply regrets the passing of our colleague Gerardo Taracena; we join the grief of his family.”
Cueva, who met Taracena in a theater company decades ago, shared details in an interview for the YouTube channel De la Rosa TV. “We worked with many directors; later, he started doing film, but we were very close, always messaging each other,” he recalled. He explained they spoke the day before the death and that Taracena's wife called him right after. “It's regrettable what happened to him, no one expected it,” he said.
The medical examiner determined the cause was a myocardial infarction, when blood flow to the heart stops completely or partially, according to the Mayo Clinic. Cueva revealed Taracena suffered from arterial hypertension, a 'silent disease' without clear symptoms that can lead to heart problems. “The only thing he had was hypertension, but it was controlled with his medications, yes, one never knows, only God,” he said. This condition, common in men and hereditary, increases with age and damages arteries over time.
Taracena began his career at the Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT) and debuted in film in the 1990s with Hija del Puma. He won an Ariel Award for El Violín and appeared in productions like Apocalypto (with Mel Gibson), Man on Fire (with Denzel Washington), Narcos: Mexico, Celda 211, and his last work, Cometierra. His career spanned film, series, and theater, noted for intense roles in Mexican and international audiovisual works.
