Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano (born November 30, 1936), more commonly known by her stage name Lucha Villa, is a Mexican singer and actress.

Early life

Born in Santa Rosalía de Camargo, Chihuahua, Luz Elena Ruiz Bejarano was given her pseudonym "Lucha Villa" by television producer Luis G. Dillon ("Lucha" a

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for Isabel or ''Bob (given name), Bob'' fo ...

for Luz Elena, and "Villa" in honor of

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

). She has been a constant presence in popular music and film since the early 1960s. Villa's early hits included "Media vuelta", by José Alfredo Jiménez, as well as "La cruz del cielo" and "Viva quien sabe querer" In the 1970s, Lucha Villa traveled to Denver, Colorado to perform for a benefit for the Crusade for Justice, youth programs and school. In 1996, Villa, along with Lola Beltrán and Amalia Mendoza, recorded the studio album, ''Disco del Siglo: Las Tres Señoras'', produced by

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, ...

, acknowledging their lasting contributions to music fanatics throughout Mexico and Latin America.

Acting career

She appeared in several films during the 1950s and early 1960s, received her first starring role in ''El gallo de oro'' (1964), and starred in ''Me cansé de rogarle'', a musical with Jiménez and recording star Marco Antonio Muñiz. She has appeared in some fifty films and won an Ariel Award for Best Actress (the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar) for ''Mecánica nacional'' (1973).

Personal life

She fell into a coma because of complications during surgery in August 1997, but recovered after a long stay in hospital, and has appeared on television sporadically since then. She was married five times: Mario Miller (1951-1958), Alejandro Camacho, Arturo Durazo (guitarist for Los Apson, 1960), Justiniano Rengifo, (from Zacatecoluca, El Salvador, 1974), and Francisco Muela. Lucha Villa has three children: Rosa Elena (1953), Carlos Alberto (1954), María José (1974).

Discography

Early in her career she made a collaborative album with Luis Aguilar on

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. Most of her output has been on Musart Records; she also recorded for Ariola and WEA arner Elektra Atlantic

Selected filmography

* '' The Empire of Dracula'' (1967) * ''

National Mechanics ''National Mechanics'' (Spanish:''Mecánica nacional'') is a 1972 Mexico, Mexican comedy film filmed in May 1971 with locations near the free highway to Cuernavaca, and directed and written by Luis Alcoriza. It was released in Mexico City on Decem ...

'' (1972)

References

External links

Discography
*
Filmography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villa, Lucha 1936 births Living people Ariel Award winners Actresses from Chihuahua (state) Mexican film actresses Musart Records artists People from Camargo, Chihuahua People from Chihuahua (state) Ranchera singers Singers from Chihuahua (state) Women in Latin music 20th-century Mexican actresses 21st-century Mexican actresses 20th-century Mexican women singers 21st-century Mexican women singers