Dancing across European and Latin-American Borders: Pili and Mili’s transnational musical films of the 1960s

Abstract

ABSTRACT Pili and Mili were two of the most important musical stars in Hispanic cinemas during the 1960s. They were twins and starred in ten films, from 1963 to 1970, that made them internationally famous. Discovered by powerful Spanish producer Benito Perojo, their stardom was developed mainly in co-productions with different European and Latin-American countries, especially Mexico. This article aims to rediscover Pili and Mili’s films as one of the most important transnational film cycles devoted to musical stars in Hispanic film markets during the 1960s. It pays attention to the distinctive features that their films proposed with respect to others featuring contemporary stars: Pili and Mili hardly sang and did not release music records, but presented themselves mainly as extremely adaptable dancers; moreover, instead of being strongly attached to certain music styles, they constantly demonstrated a transnational versatility in their movies. Transnational mobility, the performance of non-Spanish characters and hybridisations with other transnational film genres of the 1960s, among other transnational dimensions, are also analysed in their films.