Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ José Miguel Ariza

 [These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Miguel Angel Aristu Mondragón was born in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain in 1943. He was the son of the director of the Bank of Bilbao and the sixth of twelve children. His younger brother is the director, actor Jesús Aristu [1935]. He had lived in the Canary Islands since 1957 when he was 14. At the age of 19 in 1962 he enrolled in the Los Goliardos company founded by Ángel Facio, after finishing his studies at the Official School of Cinematography in Madrid, which he entered in 1962 he joined the theater troupe La República he then joined another company, 2RC Teatro , directed by Rafael Rodríguez, using the stage name Miguel Ángel Aristu in a theater play which toured different cities in the United States and Mexico.

Entering films in the mid-1960s he was billed as José Miguel Ariza and appeared in two dozen films until retiring in 1983. After leaving the acting industry at the young age of 34 he moved to the Canary Islands and opened a comic bookstore in the Las Canteras area and later opened the El Buscón bookstore. After this professional adventure he opened a cafe, in 2003 the theater knocked on his door again. Nacho Cabrera, director of the company La República, invited him to participate in the cast of “Cuando las mujeres asassaultaron los cielos”, a version of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

José Miguel Ariza died in San Miguel Tanatorio, Grand Canary Islands, Spain on February 13, 2018.

Ariza appeared in one Spaghetti western: “Ballad of a Bounty Hunter” in 1965. He also appeared in one episode of the Spanish TV series ‘Curro Jiménez’ as Alguacil in 1977.

ARIZA, José Miguel (aka Jose Miguel Ariza, Miguel Ariza) (Miguel Angel Aristu Mondragón) [1943, Pamplona, Navarre, Spain -2/13/2018, San Miguel Tanatorio, Grand Canary Islands, Spain] – theater, film, TV actor, brother of actor Jesús Aristu [1933-    ], married to ? father of two children, married to María José Ariza, father of a son.

Ballad of a Bounty Hunter – 1965