he was born in Buenos Aires, at the Hospital Rivadavia, in the same place where Azucena Maizani, her artistic godmother, was born.

She spent her chilhood in Temperley and when she was a twelve-year-old girl her father presented her at a contest of Spanish songs on Radio Belgrano, and she turned out the winner. One year later she started her theater studies with Carlos Perelli and Angelina Pagano.

She began her career on radio stations and theaters as actress and singer of boleros and Spanish songs. While still a teenager, Francisco Canaro heard her and suggested her to study singing.

In her theater career she performed very different styles, from Molière to the most outstanding playwrights of our days.

In 1943 she made her debut in the movies with a juvenile role in the Francisco Mujica's film La guerra la gano yo, whose leading star was the actor Pepe Arias. Later would follow: "Se rematan ilusiones" (1944), "Allá en el setenta y tantos..." (1945), "El tercer huésped" (1946), "El hombre del sábado" (1947), "Un tropezón cualquiera da en la vida" (1949) and "Don Juan Tenorio" (1949).

This latter year she was summoned by Manuel Romero for the movie "La historia del tango" which starred the actor Fernando Lamas. This was her first important role. As from this film the movies stole a great part of her life.

With the same director she worked in "Arriba el telón" (1951) along with Juan Carlos Mareco "Pinocho". The female singers Sofía Bozán and Jovita Luna also appeared in that motion picture.

She was starred in around thirty films, many of them abroad. The last one was an appearance as special guest in "Los chicos crecen" (1974), with the great actor Luis Sandrini.

She spent several years in the Caribbean area, where besides working as movie actress she appeared on television.

L. Godoy, M. Monteña, V. Luque , M. Dorell and S. Piana

In Buenos Aires she became a vedette, she joined the show of musical revues as top star hired by Carlos A. Petit.

In 1946, in the play "La canción de los barrios", Francisco Canaro made her sing his tango piece "Si tu me quisieras" with lyrics by Ivo Pelay. She never abandoned this music.

Her first recordings were cut for the Pampa label with the accompaniment of Argentino Galván's ensemble, later she recorded for Microfón and RCA-Victor. She released fourteen long-playing records accompanied by great orchestra leaders: Atilio Stampone, Omar Valente, Roberto Pansera, Osvaldo Requena. She also recorded three discs in Spain and one in Israel, singing in Yiddish. She made recordings in Galician, French and Portuguese.

She made tours of Central America, the United States, Cuba, Spain, Canada and Brazil. She made over a hundred trips and, nowadays she is about to embark on her ninth travel to Japan. Precisely in Japan she recorded a compact disc in Japanese.

The Argentine television had her as the leading figure in very popular programs: "La familia Gesa" (sponsored by the General Electric Company) and "Grandes valores del tango", among others.

In Paris she musicalized Alfonsina Storni's poems in collaboration with maestro Waldo Belloso. She contributed in the campaign to raise funds for the children victims of the Six-Day War between Israel and the Arab countries.

At present she goes on singing in Buenos Aires and as from June 2004, as we've said above, she will travel to Japan and will stay six months there.

She still has a poncho and a book of Gardel's lyrics that La Ñata Gaucha gave her as a present.