Amalia Mendoza García (10 July 1923 – 11 June 2001), nicknamed ''La Tariácuri'', was a Mexican

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. "Échame a mi la culpa" and "Amarga navidad" were some of her greatest hits. her best friend since youth was Martha De Miranda Jimenez "Martuquia" as she called her, she was her companion for many years when Amalia was on tour.

Career

Tariácuri, from whom Mendoza received her nickname, was an indigenous leader of the

Purépecha The Purépecha (endonym pua, P'urhepecha ) are a group of indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico, mainly in the area of the cities of Cherán and Pátzcuaro. They are also known by the pejorative "Tarascan ...

people, who inhabited present-day

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

. The nickname was used before in her brothers' musical group (Trío Tariácuri) and in her own duo (Las Tariacuritas) with her sister, Perla. She gained notice as a solo singer when she began to sing for the XEW radio station in 1954. She recorded 36 albums. In 1962, she won the Macuilxóchitl Award for best female

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

singer of

ranchera Ranchera () or canción ranchera is a genre of traditional music of Mexico. It dates to before the years of the Mexican Revolution. Rancheras today are played in virtually all regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional folk music ...

music (''bolerista de ranchero''). Through the majority of her career she was accompanied by the

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

Vargas de Tecalitlán Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán is a Mexican Folk music, folk musical ensemble, ensemble of mariachi music founded in 1897 by Gaspar Vargas. Since 1950 it has been under the artistic guidance of Rubén Fuentes. The group's musical direction had b ...

, and recorded numerous

s and

s by

José Alfredo Jiménez José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval (; 19 January 1926 – 23 November 1973) was a Mexican singer-songwriter of rancheras, whose songs are considered the basis of modern Mexican music. Biography Jiménez was born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, M ...

Cuco Sánchez José Refugio "Cuco" Sánchez Saldaña (3 May 1921 – 5 October 2000) was a Mexican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Sánchez was one of Mexico's most popular singers and recorded most of his singles and studio albums for Columbia R ...

José Ángel Espinoza José Ángel Espinoza Aragón (2 October 1919 – 6 November 2015), also known as ''Ferrusquilla'', was a Mexican singer-songwriter and film actor. He was the father of actress Angélica Aragón. There is a statue of him along Olas Altas Promen ...

, Gabriel Ruiz, and

Tomás Méndez Tomás Méndez (born Tomás Méndez Sosa; July 25, 1927 – June 19, 1995) was a Mexican composer and singer of Mexican music and ranchera music. He was born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico. He obtained his first success in 1954 with the Mexican ...

. She died four weeks and one day before her 78th birthday.

Discography

*''La Tariácuri'' (1958) *''La Tariácuri Vol. II'' (1959) *''La Tariácuri Vol. III'' (1960) (re-issued on CD as ''Amalia Vol. 1'') *''La viuda abandonada'' (Vol. IV) (1961) (re-issued on CD as ''Mucho corazón... y otros éxitos más'') *''Boleros con Amalia Mendoza'' (1962) *''Las canciones que siempre quise grabar'' (1963) *''México en la voz de Amalia Mendoza'' (1965) *''Las tres señoras'' (1995) (with

Lola Beltrán María Lucila Beltrán Ruiz (7 March 1932 – 24 March 1996), known professionally as Lola Beltrán, was a Mexican actress and singer. Beltrán is and was one of Mexico's most acclaimed singers of Ranchera and Huapango music. She made the ...

and

Lucha Villa Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano (born November 30, 1936), more commonly known by her stage name Lucha Villa, is a Mexican singer and actress. Early life Born in Camargo, Chihuahua, Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano was given her pseudonym "Lucha Villa" by telev ...

)

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza, Amalia Mexican film actresses 1923 births 2001 deaths Ranchera singers Golden Age of Mexican cinema Actresses from Michoacán Singers from Michoacán Mexican people of Purépecha descent People from Huetamo 20th-century Mexican actresses 20th-century Mexican women singers Indigenous Mexican women Women in Latin music