Elvira Ríos

Elvira Ríos was the singer who brought the bolero song to international attention. She was born in Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution, and began her career in her country in the mid-1930s. While singing on radio station XEW, Ríos' voice and beauty were noticed by Manuel Reachi, an assistant of Paramount Pictures producer Arthur Hornblow Jr.. Hornblow cast her as Rosa in his next production, Tropic Holiday (1938), which is set in Mexico. Ríos also signed contracts to sing for the NBC radio station in Los Angeles and record songs for the Decca label in New York City. Around the same time, John Ford gave her an uncredited bit part as Yakima, an Apache woman, in Stagecoach (1939). She was also the leading lady of cowboy singer Ray Whitley in Cupid Rides the Range (1939), an RKO Radio production. Her fame and success spread throughout Latin America, and soon she found herself in Argentina singing on local radio stations and starring in the Argentine musical drama When My Heart Calls (1942), in which she received top billing above famous Argentine performers. She was very popular in Brazil and performed there at the Casino da Urca in Rio de Janeiro. Although she was busy with nightclub engagements around Latin America, Ríos returned to her homeland to play her only starring role in a Mexican film in Murallas de pasión (1944). She returned to Argentina before the end of the decade to play Lupe Torres, an attractive but mysterious Mexican bolero singer, in El tango vuelve a París (1948). In the late 1940s, she also traveled to Paris, France, and Madrid Spain, where she recorded several singles for the Spanish Columbia label. Ríos' recording career in Mexico was revived around the early 1950s, when she recorded an album for the Musart label. In 1957, she recorded another one for RCA Victor Records and sang two of the album's tracks in Melodías inolvidables (1959), in which she had a small role. In 1961, she made history when she became the first non-U.S. singer to perform for the annual President's Black Tie Ball at the National Press Club in Washington. She made two more albums for RCA Victor and later signed a contract with Orfeón Records, where she made several more recordings, including new versions of her biggest hits. Her career ended in the late 1970s, when she stopped singing at nightclubs and retired. Afflicted with renal failure and bladder cancer, she died in 1987 at her home in the Coyoacán borough of Mexico City. She was 73. Her remains were cremated. Her legacy lives on through her recordings, films, and television appearances.