Lolita Torres (born Beatriz Mariana Torres; 26 March 1930 – 14 September 2002) was an Argentine film actress and singer (

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

). She began her career at age 11, performing folk songs in a theater in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. In 1944 she began acting in films, eventually appearing in seventeen films during "Argentine cinema's 'golden years.'" She was so popular in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, that many newborn girls were named 'Lolita' after her tour there in 1963. In 2002 she was honored as "Ciudadano Ilustre de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires" ("Illustrious Citizen of the City of

"). The Plaza Lolita Torres in her birthplace of Avellaneda is named for her.

Selected filmography

* ''La danza de la fortuna'' (''

The Dance of Fortune ''The Dance of Fortune'' (Spanish: ''La Danza de la fortuna'') is a 1944 Argentine musical comedy film directed by Luis Bayón Herrera and starring Luis Sandrini, Olinda Bozán and Héctor Quintanilla. Cast * Luis Sandrini * Olinda Bozán * Hé ...

'') (1944) * ''Ritmo, sal y pimienta'' ('' Rhythm, Salt and Pepper'') (1951) Ritmosalypimienta

* ''

El mucamo de la niña ''The Girl's Houseboy'' (''El mucamo de la niña'') is a 1951 Argentine musical comedy film, directed by Enrique Carreras on his directorial debut with Juan Sires. It is based on a play by Nato Lamarque, which he adapted for the screen. It stars L ...

'' (The Girl's Servant) (1951) * ''

La niña de fuego ''La niña de fuego'' (The fire girl) is a 1952 Argentine film. Cast * Lolita Torres – Fernanda / Fernando * Ricardo Passano – Pocho * Mario Baroffio – Cipriano Albaicín * César Fiaschi – Pereda * Domingo Márquez – Andrés * Anton ...

'' (The Fire Girl) (1952) * '' La mejor del colegio'' (The Best Girl of College) (1953) * ''La edad del amor'' ('' The Age of Love'') (1954)

* '' Más pobre que una laucha'' (''Poor as a Church Mouse'',"very poor" – Spanish proverb)(1955) * ''

Un novio para Laura ''Un novio para Laura'' is a 1955 Argentina, Argentine film, directed by Julio Saraceni and starring Lolita Torres and Alberto Berco. Filming took place in Buenos Aires. Cast * Lolita Torres as Laura Mendez Peñalba * Alberto Berco........Dami ...

'' (A Bridegroom for Laura) (1955) * ''

Amor a primera vista ''Amor a primera vista'' (English language: ''Love at first Sight'') is a 1956 Argentine musical comedy directed by Leo Fleider and written by Abel Santacruz and Jean Cartier. It is a tango film, based on an integral part of Argentine culture. ...

'' (Love at First Sight) (1956) * ''Novia para dos'' (A Bride for Two Men) (1956) * ''La hermosa mentira'' (The Beautiful Lie) (1958) * ''

La maestra enamorada ''La maestra enamorada'' is a 1961 Argentine film. Cast * Lolita Torres....María Elena Sánchez * Alejandro Rey....Raúl Ledesma, an engineer * Marcos Zucker....Ricardo Pereira * Héctor Calcaño Héctor Calcaño (born Héctor Calcagno, ...

'' (The Teacher in Love) (1961) * ''

Cuarenta años de novios Cuarenta is the national card game of Ecuador. It is a fishing game played with the standard 52 card pack of Anglo-American playing cards, but all 10s, 9s and 8s are omitted (ace is low). This game is almost exclusively played in Ecuador. The nam ...

'' (Forty Years of Love) (1963) * ''

Ritmo nuevo, vieja ola Ritmo (Italian/Spanish for "rhythm") may refer to: Automobiles * Fiat Ritmo, a 1978–1988 Italian compact car * Fiat Bravo The Fiat Bravo and Fiat Brava (Type 182) are small family cars produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1995 to 20 ...

'' (New Rhythm, old Wave) (1965) * '' Pimienta'' (Pepper) (1966) * '' Joven, viuda y estanciera'' (Young Girl, Widow and Landowner) (1970) * ''

Allá en el Norte ''Allá en el Norte'' (English language: ''Somewhere in the North'') is a 1973 Argentine musical comedy film directed by Julio Saraceni and written by Abel Santacruz. The film stars Lolita Torres, Carlos Estrada and Jorge Barreiro. It was created ...

'' (Somewhere in the North) (1973)

Personal life

Torres was married twice. From her first marriage she had a son, from her second marriage she had four children, one of whom, Diego, is a world-famous singer.

References

Bibliography

* Plazaola, Luis Trelles. ''South American Cinema: Dictionary of Film Makers''. La Editorial, UPR, 1989.

External links

* * 1930 births 2002 deaths People from Avellaneda Argentine film actresses 20th-century Argentine actresses Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery {{Argentina-bio-stub