Lola Beltrán

About Lola Beltrán

Lola Beltrán moved from a small Sinaloa town to Mexico City in the early 1950s and built a four-decade career singing ranchera with operatic projection and theatrical restraint. Known to fans as Lola la Grande, she made the definitive recording of Cucurrucucú Paloma and turned Paloma Negra into a torch song that José Alfredo Jiménez wrote with her voice in mind. She performed for popes, US presidents, and Mexican audiences at the Bellas Artes opera house, the first ranchera singer to take that stage. She died in Mexico City in 1996 having recorded more than 100 albums.