MEXICO CITY Mexican-born actor Anthony Quinn, who died on Sunday at 86, had wanted to have his ashes scattered in the arid canyons of northern Chihuahua State where he spent his infancy in poverty, a historian said.

Quinn expressed the wish on a sentimental visit with his family to Chihuahua in April last year, only his second return to his birthplace in his lifetime, Mexican historian Jesus Vargas, who traveled with the actor, told Reuters.

"He stayed four days there and they were very emotive in terms of his contact with nature and with Mexico and he said he would like his ashes to be scattered there," Vargas said.

Quinn's family was expected to hold a funeral ceremony in the United States. It was not known if there were any plans to fulfill his Mexican desire.

While Quinn's family left Mexico for Los Angeles when he was a young boy, the actor who won two Oscars and was perhaps best known for his role in ****"Zorba the Greek"***** (1964), was mourned as a national hero, with tributes from the nation's top film stars.

"Although he traveled all over the world, he spoke I don't know how many languages and was such a versatile actor. Besides, he really was a very macho Mexican," Mexican veteran actress Katy Jurado, told Reuters.

Jurado, who starred in three films with Quinn and counted him as a good friend, pointed to his 13 children and three marriages as evidence of his macho Mexican credentials.

Anthony Rudolph Oaxaca Quinn was born on April 21, 1915, in Chihuahua city, son of a half-Irish father Francisco Quinn and a Mexican girl Manuela, whose mother was a servant.

His parents met while his father was fighting in the heat of the Mexican 1910-1917 revolution.

Quinn, who has more than 150 films to his name, was raised in a poor Mexican district of Los Angeles where he learned to struggle against racist attitudes, Vargas said.

Growing up, Quinn was a shoeshine boy, sold newspapers, picked fruit, played the saxophone and even worked as a professional boxer before making his break in cinema.

During his visit last year to Chihuahua, Quinn was handed the keys to the city and a statue of the actor in his character ****Zorba the Greek**** -- a worldly-wise man who lives life to the fullest -- was erected in his honor.

With his craggy, adaptable looks, Quinn played a wide range of characters and nationalities, from a Greek in *****"Zorba the Greek"**** to a Bedouin leader in "Lawrence of Arabia" and a French cripple in "the hunchback of Notre Dame".

But soap opera actress and singer Lucia Mendez said Quinn retained a passion for his homeland.

"He was very proud to be Mexican, he loved Mexican people and the food. He loved to speak Spanish and say bad words...the ones he knew, he said a lot," she said.