María Félix achieved international success as an actor which allowed her to enjoy luxurious homes in various locations. Among these was her property on Hegel Street in Mexico City, situated between Campos Elíseos and Tres Picos. Félix and her then-husband Alex Berger divided their time between this residence and their home in Paris. The couple spared no expense in its design and construction. Although the project is often attributed to the architect Mario Pani, I could not confirm this.
Built in 1956, Félix's house in Polanco reflected her refinement and exquisite taste. She was constantly reinventing herself. Félix was a fashion icon, a racehorse breeder, and a collector of jewels and extraordinary antiques. Over time, she amassed an immense and valuable collection of objects, including furniture, tapestries, porcelain, and silverware, particularly from the eighteenth century. Félix was known for her bold assertions about her style and taste. She commissioned jewelry from Cartier and acquired works of art from various artists. Félix expressed herself through the original works and objects she surrounded herself with.
While many consider it an ostentatious mansion, 'La Doña's residence spanned 470 square meters. The property featured spacious rooms and extravagant interior décor, including Félix's renowned collection of art and furniture. The home was illuminated by crystal chandeliers and large windows, with walls upholstered in silk. The bathroom featured Carrara marble accents and the taps were reportedly made of gold. Diego Rivera designed her silver bed frame. The ground floor included garages, a service area, and a large reception room, while the upper floors opened to interior patios.
Throughout the home, the walls were adorned with various portraits of Félix. Among them was a stunning mermaid triptych painted by Leonora Carrington, Sueño de Sirenas (1963). It hung above a Régence center table from circa 1725, alongside a French silver tea and coffee service sold by Durand Leriche. To the left of this painting was an untitled work by Carrington, dedicated “For María, Kisses from Leonora.” Below this was yet another untitled portrait by Carrington. On the left side were two paintings of cats in costume by Leonor Fini.
Reina de Fuego by Fini hung above the fireplace mantel at Casa Polanco for decades. Another notable piece is Carrington's sketch of her son, Portrait of Enrique Alvarez Félix, signed "For María Félix with admiration & cariño, Leonora Carrington, April 8, 1960." Dominating the main wall of the living room or bedroom, depending on the year, was a charcoal drawing by Diego Rivera from 1948, titled Estudio de María Félix, which shows Félix as a mother wrapped in a blanket breastfeeding her child. In the Provencal dining room, Lepri’s 1964 paintings transformed Félix into a bird, a butterfly, and a plant pistil in a hallucinatory garden.
Félix hung Carrington's large-scale painting La Maja del Tarot (1965) above an early Louis XV giltwood banquette from 1730. Rivera's portrait La Doña María Félix (1949) was previously displayed in this spot before being sold in the 1960s. To the right of this painting was an untitled drawing of Félix by Carrington, "For María, Leonora Carrington, March 1963." To the left hung Autorretrato (1949) by Rivera, alongside an untitled painting by Fini. In another corner, Félix arranged a set of French green and parcel-gilt fauteuils with a silk damask polychrome floral tablecloth next to a German gilt-metal porcelain-mounted ebonized bonheur-du-jour. On the walls, Carrington's Quería ser pájaro (1960) was juxtaposed with Fini's Las dos Mariás (1950).
In 1974, Félix's husband Berger passed away, making her a widow for the second time. Following his death, Casa Polanco became neglected. Félix subsequently built her renowned residence, La Casa de las Tortugas, an opulent Spanish palace in Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City. Eventually, she moved to France, where she passed away in 2002. Over the years, the fate of the Polanco property has changed dramatically. Today, Félix's house no longer stands. It was demolished after her heir, Luis Martínez de Alba, sold it to make room for a housing complex.
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