María Herminia Pérez de León. (Mimí Derba)

 “Mimí Derba con tres partes de Afrodita y otra de Minerva” [Mimí Derba with three parts of Aphrodite and one of Minerva] is the poem by Alfonso Camín inspired by one of the first controversies that the artist unleashed, when she wore a skin-colored jumpsuit on stage that drew suggestively her silhouette, an action very scandalous for the time.

In 1917, Mimí Derba founded with Enrique Rojas the first production house called Azteca Films. It was rumored that he had the investment support of Pablo González. In the first year they made 5 films: "In self-defense” [En defensa propia], "Soul and sacrifice” [Alma y sacrificio], "The tigress” [La tigresa], "The shadow” [La sombra] and "The gray car” [El automóvil gris] in them Mimí Derba ventured as the first female producer, director and scriptwriter of Mexico.

“Santa” (1931) was the first sound film in Mexico, based on the work of Federico Gamboa. It tells the story of the loss of innocence in a world full of evil and lies. Mimí Derba, debuted in this new sound film playing the role of the matron of a brothel, it was then that her voice came to stay and took the title of "The voice of Mexican cinema."

Something in the history of Derba, suggests a gradual exhaustion, this is verified when in 1938 she retired from the theater. Her colossal goodbye in Bellas Artes produced a thunderous and extensive ovation. In the “Teatricidios” column of the newspaper La Prensa, very few artists received continuous praise and recognition such as hers. They referred to her as “the gentle Derba” [la gentil Derba].

Her brief foray into television occurred shortly before her death. Fernando Soler invited her in 1953, for a comedy program. Derba adapted her talent to the visual formats renewed so rapidly in the first half of the 20th century. With her participation, Derba was the only woman artist who transferred her performance from theater to film, first silent and then sound and finally to television.

Mimí Derba is perhaps best remembered today for her interpretations of a loving mother and aristocrat, whether in the film, “Ustedes los ricos”, “Salón México”, “Dos tipos de cuidado”, among others. She represented the moral voices of a privileged class that knew little or nothing of the reality of the nation.

On the day of her wake there were few attendees, but among them were people with whom Mimí Derba built a good part of the film industry in Mexico. Her very dear friend and accomplice María Conesa defended her being veiled at the ANDA and paid for her tribute ceremony.