Elvira Quintana

November 7, 1935 — Montijo, Spain

Spanish-born Mexican actress, singer, and poet. her family migrated to Mexico when she was 5 years old. She began her career working in theatre and later participated in films as an extra. Her first important role was as Carmen Ochoa in "Una solución inesperada", a segment of the drama film Canasta de cuentos mexicanos (1956). She then enrolled in the National Association of Actors' theatre and film institute (Instituto Teatral y Cinematográfico). She was given her first starring role in El buen ladrón (1957) before her breakthrough in Bolero inmortal (1958), in which she debuted as a singer; the film's soundtrack album, for which she recorded songs, was a commercial success throughout Hispanic America. She starred opposite Pedro Armendáriz, her favorite actor, in Dos hijos desobedientes (1960). Greatly admired by audiences for her beauty and talent, she became one of the most popular Mexican performers of the 1960s.