Valeria Lynch

María Cristina Lancelotti (January 7, 1952 in Buenos Aires), better known by her stage name Valeria Lynch, is an Argentine singer and actress. Named by the New York Times as one of the 5 best voices on the planet.

Biography

Valeria Lynch was born on January 7, 1952, in the neighborhood of Villa Urquiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina, the first child of the marriage of María Antonia Spano (Tony) and José Julio Lancellotti. At age 14 while studying at the Commercial College Donato Álvarez in the neighborhood of La Paternal, she defined her vocation and began to study singing with Clara Calvo and drama with Dante Gilardoni.

In 1969, she debuted on the television show ''La Botica del Ángel'' with Eduardo Bergara Leumann, singing "Cuando un amigo se va". The first major production Lynch took, was with producer Alejandro Romay in the adaptation of the musical ''Hair'', held at the Teatro Argentino in 1971 where she put her voice to the song ''Aquarius-Let The Sunshine In''. From this Romay allegedly discovered her talent and suggested that she use a pseudonym.

Valeria Lynch formally began performing in the 1970s singing jingles and underground rock in English with a group called Expression. She was also part of the TV TRIBU SRL, with which she recorded two songs for the soundtrack of the program, ''"I Am A Woman"'' and ''"Do Not Be Discouraged"'' as well as two different versions of the song" Tribu SRL "with the rest of the group, in 1975.

In 1976 she married Héctor Cavallero, who had discovered her around 1974 when she was singing in the underground clubs of Buenos Aires. The story goes that Cavallero saw her sing and was so fascinated that he waited in the dressing room and offered to represent her and launch her career as a romantic singer. The couple had two sons, Federico (born 1979) and Santiago Cavallero (born 1986). After eighteen years together, they separated in 1995.

Debut and first steps in the music industry

In 1977 she released her first album, Valeria Lynch, and the cover was a drawing of her profile made by her friend Horacio Fontova. Her version of the song ''Mujer Sola'', written by the Italian Mia Martini in Buenos Aires, she released her third studio album ''Capricornio''. The song ''Somos Locos del Amor'' was a favorite of the Argentine public.

In 1981, Valeria was in Mexico on a promotional tour and people from her record company suggested she audition for the rock opera Evita, directed by Harold Prince. Mexican producers had chosen the Mexican Rocío Banquels, but Harold Prince was overwhelming in his statement that "in my music I want Valeria," so it was decided that the two were the protagonists. Playing the role of Eva Perón opened the doors to the international level. In repeated statements to the press Harold Prince said: "Valeria Lynch was the best that I got to direct as Evita".

In 1982 she released ''Quiereme'', the hit single '' Mentira'', song composed by Chilean Buddy Richard and international success of the Nicaraguan Hernaldo Zúñiga, catapulted her to stardom and the album was promoted throughout the continent. This production won a Grammy Award nomination in the category "Best Latin Album" thanks to the orchestrations included, marking the first time the award was extended to Spanish-language recordings. On this album, the song "Esto llamado amor" involved renowned American singer Jeffrey Osborne, former lead singer of music group " LTD".

In 1983 the album ''Un poco mas de mi'', also known as ''Contigo soy capaz de todo'' in some countries, was released. The song ''Amiga Mia'', which had been recorded a year before by the Venezuelan singer Miriam Ochoa without commercial success, became a big hit as Valeria's rendition.

In 1984 she signed with RCA Ariola, and started her most successful career point, selling millions of her various recordings.

1985 was the year of the launch of the album ''Para Cantarle a la vida (To sing to life)'', with the singles ''Señor amante'', ''Querido Mio'', ''Que mal elegiste'', ''tu eres el hombre'' ''Yo sin el'' and ''como una loba'' making this album one of the best sellers in the entire region. Such was the success that in Buenos Aires, she drew nearly 100,000 spectators in 53 shows with their concert at the Teatro Astros. Also in 1985 she was invited to participate in the International Festival of Popular Song at Yamaha Budokan hall in Tokyo, Japan. Singing before more than 15,000 people she won the award for Best Performer of the Festival and the Grand Jury Prize, with the song ''Rompecabezas'' (Puzzle) that allowed her to overtake the competition La Toya Jackson. Japanese jury chairman Genichi Kawakami said that he chose Lynch for her technique of interpretation, her movement on stage and her mastery of the microphone and said the jury's verdict coincided with the vote of the audience, Valeria getting 91% of votes.
That year she was also invited to perform at the Festival de Benidorm, made in Spain.

In 1986, she published ''Sin Fronteras'' with the singles ''Amame en Cámara Lenta'', ''Fuera de mi Vida'' and ''Muñeca Rota'', which went multi-platinum in different countries; the song ''Y tu no estas'' was covered by the legendary Cuban singer La Lupe, giving the lyrics of the song a religious twist and was adopted by the Protestant communities of Latin America, being popular to date. That year her song ''Cada dia mas'', was part of the official soundtrack of the film Heroes, the film dedicated to the World Cup 1986, held in Mexico and won Argentina. She was also invited by Barry Manilow to record a duet ''Even Now'' that went by the name ''Hasta Hoy'' for Manilow's album ''Grandes Exitos en Español''. Towards the end of the year she recorded with Mexican singer Marco Antonio Muñiz, ''Para no estar triste esta navidad'' which became number 1 in Mexico; and released ''Valeria Canta el Tango'', becoming the biggest selling album of tango in Argentinian phonographic history, according to CAPIF, until 2009 (the record now held by Julio Iglesias with his album ''Tango'').

In 1988, the album ''A cualquier Precio'' with a distinctly pop sound and innovative musical sold very successfully. That same year she performed in Carnegie Hall, New York and sold out for two nights. The New York Times chose her as "One of the five best voices in the world".
The song "Piensa en Mi" remained for more than three months at the top the album sales charts for much of South America. The tour ''A cualquier precio'' ran in the main cities of the continent and made television specials for Puerto Rico, United States, Argentina and Mexico. She participated as the sole guest on the Mexican TV ''Mala Noche No'' conducted by Verónica Castro reaching peak audience in prime time, and received the "Latin Music Award (Latin Grammy) in the ''Voice of Voices'' and performed her show at the Desert Inn Hotel in the city of Las Vegas, U.S..

In 1989 she composed and recorded ''la extraña dama'' for the TV series of the same name on Channel 9 from Argentina. The song, included on the LP ''Energia'', sold 60,000 copies and features present in 9 shows at the Teatro Gran Rex de Buenos Aires. The album included the song ''Hay un mañana'' a duet with Mexican singer José José, "el principe de la cancion." She extensively toured throughout America, was named the "Figure of the Year" by the Association of Entertainment Critics of New York and also presented for the third time in Carnegie Hall, accompanying the singer Marcelo Alejandro as part of a music festival. The high ratings that popularised the soap opera "The Strange Lady" in the almost one hundred countries where televised brought the theme song sung by Valeria Lynch to markets like Italy, Israel, Egypt, Romania, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Australia, Greece, the Philippines and Turkey, where their records had not yet been published.

Between 1983 and 1989, Valeria Lynch was the Argentinean artist who placed the most songs in the main music sales and charts of Latin America.

1990s

During this decade, Valeria Lynch's career was more quiet, as she was established in popular taste and adapted to the changing music industry and the market that saw the birth of vinyl gave way to CD and video as primary distribution mode. She remained successful due to her avant-garde sound in the last decade, without continental touring as before. Lynch also returned to musical comedy and was successful with the intelligentsia in Argentina that once did not understand so much success in a clearly popular figure.

In 1990 she participated in the Festival of San Remo, Italy, where the critics compared her playing style to that of Mina Mazzini. Her record label BMG RCA- released a compilation album entitled "Mis mejores canciones" as a closure of her stage career full of hit songs. This sold just over 200,000 copies in Argentina alone.

Recorded in Rome in 1991, the album ''hablame de amor'' had sixteen consecutive performances at the Opera Theater in Buenos Aires, surpassing the record held by the Spanish Julio Iglesias at the same venue. Towards the end of that year she attracted more than 100,000 spectators at the concert at the Avenida 9 de Julio, Buenos Aires, and saw another 150,000 people in her recital at the Apple Festival in the province of Mendoza. She also made a special album for Chilean television.

In 1992 she made a new version of " Estan Tocando nuestra Cancion" with her partner and friend Victor Laplace and her CD ''sin red'' launched.

In the winter of 1993 she performed at the Teatro Opera de Buenos Aires three performances, with the participation of Jorge Guinzburg, Antonio Gasalla, Mercedes Sosa, Horacio Fontova, Fabiana Bravo and Sandro. This recital was broadcast on Channel 13 of Buenos Aires.

1994 is the year of the launch of "Caravana de Sueños" an album produced by Michael Sembello, producer of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Donna Summer. This full-length album was a break from the traditional sound of Valeria. Although she had global publishing, production fell short of expected sales. The CD included 4 tracks, with ''Sembello'' that had released on her album ''Caravan of Dreams'' in 1992. That year, also debuted was the TV program ''Valeria Dreaming'' on Channel 13, Argentina; a music program that was attended by Raphael, Simone, Marianne Faithfull, Dionne Warwick, Tony Bennett, Eros Ramazzotti, Roberto Carlos, Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel, Bottom Tap, Lucecita Benitez and Jose Feliciano, among others, with whom she shared interviews and songs as a duo. In November of that year, she was recognized in Peru with the award "Paloma de la Paz."

In 1995 came the turn of playing Aurora, the central character in "El beso de la mujer araña", again under the direction of Harold Prince, who was a deciding factor when Argentine producers called him to lead the implementation of the Kiss ... in Buenos Aires, and he inquired about who would be the protagonist, Prince said: "I love Valeria Lynch."

In 1996 she released her latest studio work for the label BMG. "De regreso al amor" was an album of classic pop ballads and rhythm and blues arrangements.

In 1997 she was invited by the Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias in his concert at the River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, singing duo the theme "Experiencia religiosa"

In that year she made for HBO special recorded music in the Opera theatre of Buenos Aires, called The Romantics, The Last Appointment with Armando Manzanero, Soledad Bravo and Nana Caymi.

In 1998, Valeria Lynch recorded the theme "Paths of the Soul" next to Kennedy Choirs and with more than 120 Argentine artists under the direction of Instrumental pianist and conductor Nazareno Andorno. That same year, in an end to the 14-year contract with BMG Ariola, her record label, they released a compilation album with dance arrangements in some songs. "Baila Conmigo" was certified gold album and the single was heard in all the clubs in Argentina. During the months of June and September led by American television program "Mas te Vale" that included the participation of guest musicians including recalls María Martha Serra Lima, Jairo, Victor Heredia, Carmen Flores and Claudia Puyo, among others.

In January 1999 she debuted as an actress in the telenovela "Salvajes" TV channel Azul Argentina, the strip was part of the tropical music genre, from here would follow the single "Llamas en el corazon"performed by Valeria and after Isabel Pantoja the Spanish version recorded in Flemish. While at night, she starred with Patricia Sosa the musical "Las Hermanas de Carusso"in the Liceo Theatre, also dabbling in classical music, but the public response was not expected, and the season aired only a few weeks.

2000s

In 2000, no longer contracted with multinational record labels, she released her first independent production of the hand of Editorial Atlantida de Buenos Aires, the album ''algo natural'' achieved platinum status for 60000 copies sold. The particularity of this cd is that it was sold in newsstands and magazine, it was distributed abroad by regional labels. The song "Quisiera ser tu luz", Spanish version of the song "Living From Day To Day / Ani Chaya Li Mi'Yom Le'Yom" the Israeli singer Rita Kleinstein, became a radio hit, and the version of Valeria Years later, he began to sound on the radio from Jerusalem by the spread achieved by YouTube. In July of that same year she starred in a children's show season of "Lucia, la maga"at the Teatro Nacional.

During the summer of 2002 she was invited to the prestigious Festival de Viña del Mar in Chile, establishing herself as a composer to win with her song "Soy tu angel"as performed by Oscar Patiño in international competition. That same year she presented with overwhelming success in 3 functions completely sold-out in the Opera Theatre of Buenos Aires.

In 2003, she performed with actresses Alicia Mazzer and Emilia Bruzzo in the play "Monologos de la vagina" (Vagina Monologues).

In 2004 her album "Vivo por Valeria" was released, recorded live at the Opera Theater of Buenos Aires. The tour to promote this album convened more than 250 thousand people in its various actions by Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Also, this year called Nito Artaza to star with important figures in the show "Argentina todo un Show" with great success in their seasons of Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires.

In 2005 she released "Nosotras", with the help of producer Roberto Livi.

In 2006 she played in the theater "El Nacional" Corrientes Avenue in the City of Buenos Aires the musical Victor Victoria and participated in the jury of the television reality show ''Singing for a Dream''. She also began developing her teaching career, with a string of musical schools located in several cities in Argentina.

During the first half of 2007, she performed musicals by Victor Victoria in his season at the Teatro Teleton de Santiago de Chile. In November 2007 she presented a new show in the Gran Rex theatre in Buenos Aires.

In March 2008 she presented the show Bien Argentino, drawing over 60,000 spectators, where she shared the stage with Raul Lavie and Laura Fidalgo.

In April 2009 she debuted again with Nito Artaza and together with Chico Novarro from the review show ''Arráncame la risa''. In November of that same year she presented her show Cada 'dia more Valeria', summoning more than 15,000 people at the Gran Rex theater in Buenos Aires, with the presence of Estela Raval, Pimpinela and Palito Ortega.

During the summer of 2010 she was the main attraction of the magazine "Carnaval de Estrellas" in the town of Carlos Paz, in the province of Cordoba, Argentina, and leading the box office with 60,000 viewers. Her interpretation of the song "Grande Amore", which was a hit in the voice of Mina Mazzini, was one of the most celebrated musical boxes.

In November 2010 she hit the commercial market, after 5 years of silence, with the album ''Todo o Nada.'' Produced by Horacio Lanzi and with a return to the style that led her to fame. The day of its release the CD was awarded the gold certification and sold-out in performance at the Gran Rex theatre in Buenos Aires for 5 functions.

During the summer of 2010 she was the main attraction of the magazine Star Carnival in the city of Carlos Paz, in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, and led the box office with 60,000 spectators. Her rendition of the song ''Grande Amore'' which was a success in the voice of Italian singer Mina, was one of the most celebrated musical shows.

In 2011 Valeria Lynch toured shows in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
In August, she launched her fragrance ''Loba'', a name inspired by the song "Como una Loba" (1985). In November of the same year she began a tour of presentations by US, Argentina and Uruguay with her new tour "Loba".

During 2012 Valeria participated as a juror of TV shows "Cantando por un Sueño" and "Soñando por Cantar," broadcast on Channel 13. Later in the year, she presented her new show "Valeria Vale" at Teatro Gran Rex, managing to gather more than 15,000 people in 5 functions.

In early 2013 she presented at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires as part of the show "Las Elegidas" where accompanied by a symphony orchestra she performed her classic "Piensa en mi
By the end of 2013 Valeria is resubmitted at the Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires, with its new show titled "La Elegida" on 9/10/23 and November 24.

During the early months of 2014 she toured Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay taking the month of February in Miami to record the album "Valeria Con Todo" with production of Rafael Vergara and Vicky Echeverry, published by Sony Music Argentina in Latin America, marking her return to a multinational company.
The point of note was the song "Un Nuevo Día" which was presented as a leitmotiv to support Argentina in the World Cup Brazil 2014. This new album included the first theme, "Soy tu angel" establishing her songwriting and won the "Gaviota de Plata", and the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in 2002.

In the months of November and December she presented her show "Valeria Con Todo" at the Grand Rex theater in Buenos Aires for four nights and received in the US the Latin Grammy award for Musical Excellence for her contribution to popular music from Latin America, recognizing after 32 years from obtaining the record "Quiereme" a Grammy nomination for orchestrating the song "Cambias mi amor".

Discography

According to estimates by the Argentina Chamber of Phonographic Producers (CAPIF), Valeria Lynch has sold about 15 million albums worldwide.

2000s

* ''RompeCabezas'' (2019). Sony Music Argentina.
* ''Extraña Dama Del Rock'' (2017). Sony Music Argentina.
* ''Sinfónica'' (2015). DVD + CD. Sony Music Argentina.
* ''Valeria Con Todo'' (2014). Sony Music Argentina.
* ''Valeria Vale'' (2014). DVD + CD. Leader Music.
* ''Loba'' (2012) DVD + CD. Leader Music.
* ''La Máxima'' (2011) DVD + CD doble. Leader Music.
*2010 ''O Todo O Nada''- (''Everything Or Nothing'')
*2007 ''Víctor Victoria''- ''Victor Victoria'', Theatre Show
*2006 ''Víctor Victoria''- ''Victor Victoria'', Theatre Show
*2006 ''Nosotras''- (''Us'',)
*2004 ''Vivo por Valeria''- (''I live for Valeria'' live recorded album)
*2000 ''Algo Natural''- (''Something Natural'')
*2000 ''Lucía, la Maga''- (''Lucia, the Magician'')

1990s

*1999 ''Las Hijas de Caruso''- (1999, ''Caruso's Daughters'')
*1996 ''De Regreso al Amor''- (1996, ''Returning to Love'')
*1995 ''El Beso de la Mujer Araña''- 1995, Kiss of the Spider Woman
*1994 ''Caravana de Sueños''- (1994, ''Dreams March'') produced by Michael Sembello.
*1993 ''Todo Valeria Lynch de FM: Tango Para Usted''- (1993, tango album, ''Everything Valeria FM: Tango for You'')
*1992 ''Sin Red''- (1992, ''Without a net'')
*1992 ''Están Tocando Nuestra Canción''- (re-issue of 1980 album)
*1991 ''Háblame de Amor''- (''Tell me About Love'')
*1990 ''Sanremo '90''- (1990, recorded live in Sanremo, Italy)

1980s

*1989 ''Energía''- (''Energy'')
*1988 ''A Cualquier Precio''- (''At any Price'')
*1986 ''Sin Fronteras''- (''Without Frontiers'')
*1996 ''Valeria Canta el Tango''- (Tango album)
*1986 ''En Vivo: reedición''- (remake of her 1984 album, ''En Vivo'')
*1985 ''Ciclos 85, reedición de Capricornio''- (a remake of Capricornio)
*1985 ''World Popular Song Festival Tokyo''- (1985, recorded live during her award-winning performance)
*1984 ''Cada Día Más''- (''More Each Day'')
*1984 ''En Vivo''- (live recorded album)
*1983 ''Mujer: redición''- (1983, ''Woman: re-edited'')
*1983 ''Un Poco Más de Mí''- (''A Little bit More of Me'')
*1982 ''Quiéreme''- (''Love Me'')
*1982 ''Valeria Lynch Canta Evita''- (another album dedicated to Evita Peron)
*1981 ''Evita (México)''- (album dedicated to Evita Peron and to Mexico)
*1980 ''Están Tocando Nuestra Canción''- (''They are Playing our Song'')
*1980 ''Capricornio''- (''Capricorn'')

1970s

*1979 ''Yo Soy tu Canción''- (''I am Your Song'')
*1977 ''Valeria Lynch''- (self titled debut album)

Filmography

Movies

*Lynch participated alongside Raul Julia in the Hollywood motion picture, ''Tango Bar'' filmed in Puerto Rico.
*Her song ''Me Das Cada Día Más'' was used for ''Hero'', the 1986 official FIFA World cup film.

Television

*'' La Voz Uruguay'' (coach)
*''Cantando Por Un Sueño'' (2006/2011, ''Singing for a dream'')
*''Movete'' (2002, ''Move on'')
*''Salvajes'' (1999, ''Savages'')
*''Más te Vale'' (1998, ''You'd Better!'')
*''Vale Valeria'' (1997, ''Valeria's Worth It'')
*''Soñando con Valeria'' (1994, ''Dreaming with Valeria'')
*''Tribu'' (1975, ''Tribe'', variety show)
Lynch has participated in other television shows as a special guest.

Commercials

* Tarjeta Galicia (2009)
*Querubin (2004, Querubin Products)
*Coca-Cola (2001)
*Vinos Termidor (1978, for Termidor Wines)

References

External links

ValeriaLynch.com.ar
(English version of official website)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Valeria
1952 births
Living people
Singers from Buenos Aires
Argentine people of Italian descent
20th-century Argentine women singers
Winners of Yamaha Music Festival
Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
21st-century Argentine women singers
Women in Latin music