Marina Herrera Aragón (18 July 1927 – 16 February 2023), known as Marilú or "La Muñequita que Canta" (The Little Doll that Sings), was a Mexican singer and actress. She began her career in 1939. At the time of her death she was one of the last stars from the

Golden Age of Mexican cinema The Golden Age of Mexican cinema ( es, Época de Oro del Cine Mexicano) is a period in the history of the Cinema of Mexico between 1930 and 1969 when the Mexican film industry reached high levels of production, quality and economic success of its ...

Background

Marilú was born in Cárdenas,

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. After her father's death, the family moved to

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, where Marilú won a singing contest and joined the troupe of a comedian named Don Catarino. In November 1940 she joined Paco Miller's troupe, which later toured Mexican states. In

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, Marilú became an XEW radio performer and appeared in her first film, ''

La liga de las canciones LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' (1941). She also sang at the Teatro Lírico and the Teatro Follies. In 1943, she sang at the Waikiki nightclub and joined Alfonso Brito's troupe at the Carpa Colonial.

Career

After signing a contract with Filmex (a production company), she studied drama with Gustavo Villatoro and co-starred with actor and director

Joaquín Pardavé Joaquín Pardavé Arce (30 September 1900 – 20 July 1955) was a Mexican film actor, director, songwriter and screenwriter of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He was best known for starring and directing various comedy films during the 1940 ...

in three of his films: ''Los hijos de Don Venancio'' (1944), ''Los nietos de Don Venancio'' (1946), and '' El barchante Neguib'' (1946). In 1952, she signed a recording contract with

Peerless Records Peerless Records was a record label based in Mexico. Peerless was founded in 1921 in Mexico City by E. Baptista. Early pressings of their gramophone record were made under contract by Gennett Records. By 1933, Peerless was pressing its own recor ...

and released her first hit single, "Veleidad". Her other Peerless recordings include "Inquietud", "Consentida", and a Spanish version of "

Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" is a popular song with music by Bronislau Kaper, and lyrics by Helen Deutsch. The song was published in 1952. The song was featured in the film, ''Lili'', starring Leslie Caron. Recorded versions *Dinah Shore with Frank De Vol ...

" (from the film ''

Lili ''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won the Academy Award for ...

''). In 1958 she recorded ''Noche de luna'', an album of Gonzalo Curiel songs, for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

's Vik label. In the 1970s she recorded two albums, ''Tangos de Buenos Aires'' and ''Marilú hoy''. Her most recent albums are ''Cuidado muy sentimental'' and ''Recordando a Daniel Zarabozo''.

Personal life and death

Marilú was the wife of cartoonist David Carrillo, founder of the Mexican Society of Cartoonists, until his death in 2015. In 2016, she said: "My life is singing and I will continue doing it until the public allows me, ecausewhen they no longer accept me for sure I will cry, and I will have to retire, but as long as that does not happen I will continue, because I still have faculties." Marilú died on 16 February 2023, at the age of 95.Cantante y actriz Marilú, 'La Muñequita que Canta' muere a los 95 años

References

External links

* {{authority control 1927 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Mexican actresses 20th-century Mexican women singers Bolero singers Mexican stage actresses Mexican film actresses People from San Luis Potosí RCA Victor artists 21st-century Mexican women singers Golden Age of Mexican cinema