José Mojica

Fray José de Guadalupe Mojica [mohe-cah] (September 14, 1896 – September 20, 1974) was a Mexican Franciscan friar and former tenor and film actor. He was known in the music and film fields as José Mojica.

Mojica joined the world of the American film industry before entering religious life. Together with Dolores del Río, Tito Guízar, Ramón Novarro and Lupe Vélez, he was among the few Mexican people who made history in the early years of Hollywood. Regarding his activity as a friar, singer and actor, he felt that religion and art have never been at conflict. If God gave me the grace of voice and singing skills, I use them for His glory, he explained.

Early life

Born in San Gabriel, Jalisco, Mojica was raised in a coffee and sugar plantation community until the age of six, when his father died. After a lonely, fatherless childhood, he moved with his mother to Mexico City, where he studied at the Academy of San Carlos and later attended the National School of Agriculture. Regrettably, after four years of studies he was forced to leave, when the school was closed due to the Mexican Revolution armed conflict. This experience led him to find his true calling, and began to take private voice lessons while studying at the National Conservatory of Music of Mexico.