María Lucila "Lola" Beltrán Ruiz (7 March 1932 – 24 March 1996) was a Mexican actress and singer. She is and was one of Mexico's most acclaimed singers of Ranchera and Huapango music. She collaborated with other Mexican music stars such as Amalia Mendoza,

Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; 7 January 1950 – 28 August 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor. Colloquially Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, ...

, and Lucha Villa. She was internationally renowned for her interpretation of the songs " Cucurrucucú paloma" and " Paloma Negra" and sang before world leaders. She was nicknamed ''Lola la Grande'' ("Lola the Great"). Her song ''Soy infeliz'' ("I'm Unhappy") was the opening music for

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...

's film '' Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown''.

Life

Beltrán was born in the town of El Rosario, Sinaloa where she was schooled by Carmelite nuns. Her mother enjoyed singing and her father managed a mine. She completed secretarial studies while participating in singing competitions. She was intrigued by ballads and the singing she heard in church. Eventually, Beltrán and her mother moved to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

so that she could find a career performing. Beltrán worked as a secretary at a Mexican radio station, XEW. She pestered the radio station to be allowed to sing. The station and listeners were so impressed that within a year she had her own radio show. Beltrán credits the station with giving her a chance, which enabled her to make a career. It was there that she met the songwriter Tomás Méndez who composed songs for her, including the international hits " Cucurrucucú paloma" and "Tres Dias". Beltrán was the first wife of the

matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

and film actor and had a daughter with him, singer María Elena Leal. She entered the world of film in 1954 in ''El Tesoro de la Muerte''. After appearing in dozens of films, most of them musicals, she obtained a starring role in the

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

''Mi rival'' with

Saby Kamalich Saby Kamalich, born Sabina Fantoni Kamalich, (13 May 1939 in Lima, Peru – 13 September 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico) was a Peruvian- Mexican actress, known for her work in television and film. Her father Antonio Fantoni was from Italy, and her ...

. In cinema, Beltrán made her film debut on ''El cantor del circo'' (1940), an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

film. She also shared credits with Mexican movie stars such as

Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 August 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best know ...

, Ignacio López Tarso,

Katy Jurado María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado ( , ), was a Mexican actress. She acted in popular Western films of the 1950s and 1960s. Her talent for playing a variety of ...

María Félix María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña (; 8 April 1914 – 8 April 2002) was a Mexican actress and singer. Along with Pedro Armendáriz and Dolores del Río, she was one of the most successful figures of Latin American cinema in the 1940s and ...

and Pedro Armendáriz in '' La Bandida'' (1963). Her last film appearance was in ''Una gallina muy ponedora'' (1982) sharing credits with Columba Domínguez. As a television presenter, she hosted the programs ''Noches tapatías'' (1976) and her own television program entitled ''El estudio de Lola Beltrán'' (1984), programs in which she received stars such as Cornelio Reyna,

, Lucha Villa, La Prieta Linda and

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...

. Beltrán is considered one of the most successful ranchera artists of all time. She gave concerts before various world leaders: President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the leader of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

foreign minister

Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko ( – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1985) and as List of heads of state of the So ...

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the Party leader, leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, country's dissoluti ...

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

and Queen Sofia,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, American Presidents

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and Presidents of Mexico

Adolfo Ruiz Cortines Adolfo Tomás Ruiz Cortines ( 30 December 1889 – 3 December 1973) was a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 1952 to 1958. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he previously served as Governor of Vera ...

and

Carlos Salinas de Gortari Carlos Salinas de Gortari (; born 3 April 1948) is a Mexicans, Mexican economist, historían and former politician who served as the 60th president of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Considered the frontman of Mexican Neoliberalism by formulating, p ...

. She was the first ranchera singer to perform at the

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It hosts performing arts events, literature events and plastic arts galleries and exhibitions (including important permanent Mexican murals). "Bella ...

(Palace of Fine Arts), the premier opera house and concert hall in Mexico. She also sang in the Olympia Music Hall in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the Tchaikovsky Hall in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and the Conservatory of Leningrad (now

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) in the former Soviet Union. Beltrán was honored in 1995 with her inclusion into a series of commemorative postage stamps, issued by her native Mexico, honoring 'Popular Idols of Radio'. This was done in recognition of her lifetime achievement in the realm of popular music and her success in spreading an appreciation of Mexican culture throughout the world.

Death

On March 24, 1996, soon after recording ''Disco del Siglo'' (English: ''Album of the Century'') with Lucha Villa and Amalia Mendoza "La Tariácuri" and produced by

, Beltrán died of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

at Hospital Ángeles in Mexico City. She had appeared in about 50 films and recorded about a hundred albums. Her body was laid on display in the rotunda of the

(''Palace of Fine Arts'') in Mexico City.

Filmography

Telenovelas

Television shows

Films

Cinema of Argentina

Cinema of Mexico

Cinema of Spain

Notes

References

External links

*
La incomparable Lola Beltrán: la voz inmortal de México
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beltrán, Lola 1932 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Mexican actresses 20th-century Mexican women singers Actresses from Sinaloa Deaths from pulmonary embolism Mexican film actresses Mexican women television presenters Mexican television presenters Peerless Records artists People from El Rosario, Sinaloa Ranchera singers RCA Victor artists Singers from Sinaloa Women in Latin music