Angel Tavira | One-handed violinist, 84

Angel Tavira, 84, a one-handed violinist who dedicated his life to Mexican folk music and won an acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival at age 82, has died.

Mr. Tavira died Monday of kidney problems at a Mexico City hospital, said Eugenia Montiel, a spokeswoman for Camara Carnal Films, which co-produced Mr. Tavira's 2005 film The Violin.

Mr. Tavira was born into a family of musicians in the southwestern town of Corralfalso, and started playing the violin at age 6. When he was 13, he lost his right hand while setting off fireworks at a fair. He pursued his music career nonetheless, playing the violin with the bow tied to his stump.

Mexican director Fernando Vargas made a documentary about Mr. Tavira in 2002, and two years later cast him in the fictional film The Violin. With no previous experience, Mr. Tavira won an acting award at Cannes in 2006 for his role as the patriarch of a family of street musicians who support a rebel movement. - AP