From Actor to Altar ...
There is no better advocate of the Happiness of the Lord than Father Humberto Almazan, a priest who has known the ups, downs, and middles of life, and who retains the sense of true Christian joy.
Calling himself a "cork on the ocean of the Lord," Father Almazan's career has taken him from the life of a famous movie actor to service in missions among the lepers, drug addicts, the poorest of the poor, and the disfranchised in a number of countries, and to speaking engagements and Catholic dramatic performances world wide.
The middle child of a well-to-do architect and a strong- willed mother, Humberto was born in the elevator of the maternity hospital in Mexico City on February 16, 1924. As he tells it, "Mother was going up and I was coming down."
Although religion was not a hallmark of his childhood, a strong sense of justice was always part of his nature. In the fourth grade of the exclusive private school he attended, there was an older boy who was mentally slow. One day the teacher broke a ruler on the boy's head for failing to know his lesson, and Humberto leapt to his defense, kicking the teacher on the ankle. He was expelled and "punished" by being sent to a government school.
High spirited as a youth, the only sign of Humberto's future vocation was when he and a group of school friends baptized another of the students in the school fountain - by force. His mother told him to love his neighbor, so he did - especially the pretty girls.
At a young age, one of Humberto's nannies took him to the movies on his promise not to tell where they had been. The movie was a romance and Humberto fell madly in love with its star, the "divine" Greta Garbo. Later, he asked his mother what the word "divine" meant and on hearing her explanation asked if the virgin was the "divine" mother of God. His mother carefully explained that only God was divine and so we call the virgin "Blessed." Humberto retorted, "Well, Greta Garbo must be more important than the virgin because she is divine." Even today, Humberto recalls the "cachatada" (slap) he received for this comment. He laughingly speculates that his mother's hand must have grown calloused from all the well-earned slaps she gave him during his youth.
His family wanted him to study architecture, so in 1941 he entered the University of Mexico. His sights, however, were set on a career in the movies. He told his mother, "I want to become a famous movie star like the man who plays Tarzan." His mother replied, "Frankly, Humberto, I believe you would make a better Cheeta (Tarzan's pet chimpanzee)." In spite of family opposition, at 21 he quit his architectural studies and enrolled in drama school. The school was associated with the Theatre de Belles Artes, the official theater of Mexico, and under Humberto's persistent urging, a teacher allowed him to try out for the role of Puck in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. He got the part, and for his performance won a scholarship to study at Le Conservatoire d' Art Dramatique de Paris.
In 1950, Humberto met and married his wife Ginette, a war orphan who had suffered from malnutrition during the German occupation of France. Although the doctors warned against it, Ginette became pregnant, and the young couple spent months of idyllic happiness in anticipation of the birth of their child. In the eighth month, complications set in. Ginette died in childbirth and the baby, a boy, was born dead. Shattered, Humberto buried himself in his work, finishing his studies and traveling to Italy for a film with Ingrid Bergman.
By the age of 35, Humberto Almazan had attained his goal of being a famous actor, and had performed in 21 movies and 30 plays. His career took him to France, Italy, and England where he performed with a number of well known stars including Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani. In 1955 he won the Mexican equivalent of the American Oscar - the "Ariel" award. A star on Mexican television, his name became a household word in that country.
On top of the world, Humberto found the peak a lonely place. Remembering the love and happiness that he had shared with his wife, he felt that if he could find a way to love and share his life with others he could be happy again.
Thinking religion might hold the key, he told his mother he thought he had a vocation and asked her if he should see the priest. Pointing to her head, she replied, "Humberto, it isn't a priest you need to see --it is a doctor!" Determined, he visited the parish priest. The priest dismissed him, telling him, "Humberto, how could you think of being a priest? You don't even come to church!" Humberto had gone to the priest thinking he would be welcomed with open arms; instead he was rebuffed. As he sadly began to leave, he met a religious brother in the hallway and poured out his heart to him. The brother gave him a biography of Father Miguel Pro, a Mexican Jesuit martyred in 1927, telling Humberto "You are no worse than this guy was. If God wants you as a priest, you will be." The life of Father Pro (now declared Blessed by the Catholic Church) gave him courage to continue investigating his vocation. His grandmother also encouraged him, reminding him that during a severe childhood illness his parents had "given" him to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Humberto wrote to Jose Mojica, another famous Mexican entertainer who had left the high life and entered a monastery in Peru. Father Mojica told him that he must follow the counsel of the gospels, turn his back on the bright lights, and divest himself of worldly goods. Humberto sold his possessions - cars, houses, a swimming pool, an extensive wardrobe - giving the money to the poor and his property to his family. He says, however, that he gave up nothing. "I loved being an actor, every moment, every triumph. I rejected none of it; it just wasn't enough." Father Humberto considers the laurels of his past a preparation for, not a contradiction of, his role as a missionary priest. His mastery of his art earned the respect of the mature and his enthusiasm stirred the hearts of the young. In speaking of youth, Father Humberto says "The youth of the world are not anti-religious, they are only anti- phony! They respond to sincerity and spontaneity. They want to do something to make a better world."
Humberto went to Peru as a candidate for the monastery, but soon discovered that this was not his vocation. One of the monks gave him information about the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles, a new order in the church which accepted "late" (adult) vocations. He wrote to the saintly founder of the order, Father Eusebio Menard, and quickly received a reply of invitation. Since he had no money, Humberto spent several months working at various jobs in order to obtain his passage to Canada. Here, at last, he found the "welcoming arms" he had sought. He entered the seminary in Montreal in 1960.
Humberto went with the group to establish the new foundation in Connecticut. He was ordained February 12, 1966. Father Humberto said his first Mass in the crypt chapel of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
During his 31 years in the priesthood, Father Almazan has worked in varied missions, from helping the lepers in Bali, Indonesia, bringing Christ's love to the drug addicts and street people of Rome, and working with drug and disease- affected children in Spain. Poor by choice, he has chosen to love and serve the poorest of the poor. A popular speaker, he has talked to audiences worldwide about the joy of his priestly vocation, using the honorariums offered for his talks to support his mission work. The founder of his order wanted him to use his acting talents for the Church, so in the 1970s he starred in a movie about his hero, Blessed Miguel Pro, S.J. Ernest Borgnine co-starred in the movie. Later, he also had the lead in a film about the life of Blessed Father Damian, the leper priest of Molokai. A role he would still like to play is that of Juan Diego in a film about the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Today, Father Almazan lives in semi-retirement near Huelva, Spain. Here he works with a group of babies and children who are born H.I.V. positive. Father earns money for his mission work by transporting boxes of herbal medicines for a local health foods store to and from the airport in his station wagon, and by his talks. He is training a group of lay persons to take over the work. In each place he works, he trains local people to continue what he begins. Then he prays to discern where God is calling him next.
At 73, Father Humberto has lost none of the ebullient enthusiasm for life he displayed as the young and famous actor. He is filled with the contagious love and true happiness he has found in the priesthood.
"As Christians, we believe that God is a loving, merciful, Lord - and that he has prepared for us a better life. No matter how difficult our life here on earth, we must rejoice! He made us in His image, and he made us for what we humans call happiness. The story of my life is not important; what is important is the life of my story - the good and merciful God."
The author was privileged to visit with Father Almazan during his most recent trip to the United States. Father's 1970s movie about Blessed Miguel is called "Guns for the Revolution,"
The movie is currently available through Hollywood's Attic from:
Nostalgia Family Video, Inc.
P.O. Box 606
Baker City, Oregon 97814
1-800-784-3362
http://www.hollywoodsattic.com
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