Rocío Banquells (; born María del Rocío Banquells Nuñez; 22 June 1958) is a Mexican pop singer, politician, and actress, best known for her work on television, the stage and cinema of Mexico and Latin America. Her mezzo voice is one of the most versatile voices from Mexico. She sings

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

, ranchera,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

Early life and career

Born in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, Mexico, in 1958, Banquells is the daughter of Cuban actor and director Rafael Banquells and the actress Dina de Marco. She is half-sister of the actress Sylvia Pasquel (daughter of Rafael Banquells and

Silvia Pinal Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (12September 193128November 2024) was a Mexican actress. She began her career in theatre before venturing into cinema in 1949. She became one of the greatest female stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and, with her p ...

). Her other siblings are Jose Manuel, Janette, Mary Paz, Ariadne and Rafael Jr. Banquells began her career as a special guest in the 1968 Banquells's telenovela '' Gutierritoz''. She moved to the stage in the early 1970s. In 1978 she starred in the musical '' Sound of Music'' along with the Mexican singer

Lupita D'Alessio Guadalupe Contreras Ramos (born 10 March 1954), better known as Lupita D'Alessio (), is a Mexican singer and actress. She is nicknamed "La Leona Dormida" (title of one of her List of signature songs, signature songs, "The sleeping lioness"). Bi ...

. Other stage performances of Rocío are in the Mexican versions of '' Grease'', '' Evita'', and ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

''. In 1979, Banquells starred in the Mexican telenovelas's international success '' Los ricos tambien lloran'', alongside Verónica Castro. Banquells's other memorable TV performances are '' Bianca Vidal'' (1983) and ''

La fiera Arturo Casco Hernández (March 17, 1961 – September 12, 2010) was a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name La Fiera, which is Spanish for "The Wild Beast". Hernández was a second-generation wrestler, ...

'' (1984). She realized memorable interpretations especially in playing evil characters. In 1985 she began her musical career with the album ''Rocío Banquells'', that includes the 1980s superhits ''Este hombre no se toca'', ''Luna Mágica'' and ''Abrazame''. Banquells continued her musical career during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1997 a legal conflict caused the Banquells retirement for over 10 years. In 2006, Banquells returned in the

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

reality show '' Cantando por un sueño'', and in 2007 returned with a new album named ''Nací para ti'', recorded live in the Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City. In the same year, she returned to TV in the telenovela '' Pasión''. In 2009-2010 Banquells starred in the Mexican version of the successful musical '' Mamma Mia!'' as ''Donna''. In 2012, Banquells returned with the show ''Noches de Cabaret'', along with the Mexican singers

Lucía Méndez Lucía Leticia Méndez Pérez (born January 26, 1955) is a Mexican telenovela and film actress, top model and singer. Méndez was born in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. Career Her first work in television was in the telenovela “Muchacha itali ...

and Manoella Torres. For her work in the recording industry, stage and television Banquells' handprints and star have been embedded onto the Paseo de las Luminarias in Mexico City, alongside her half-sister Sylvia Pasquel.

Political career

Banquells was a candidate from the '' Va por México'' coalition (made up of the National Action Party, the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

, and the Party of the Democratic Revolution, to which she belonged) for the 14th congressional district of Mexico City based in

Tlalpan Tlalpan ( , 'place on the earth') is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over 80% under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost al ...

and was elected in June 2021 after obtaining nearly 40% of the votes. From September 2021 to August 2024 she was a federal deputy in the

Congress of the Union The Congress of the Union (, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico. It consists of two chambers: t ...

. In February 2022 she switched from the PRD to the Citizens' Movement party.

Personal life

Banquells was married twice. The first time to Pedro Mendez from 1979 to 1984, father of her daughter Pamela, and the second the producer Jorge Berlanga from 1985 to 2005, father of her son Rodrigo.
''Rocío Banquells''

Discography

*1985: '' Rocío Banquells (album), Rocío Banquells'' *1986: ''Con él'' *1987: ''Entrega Total'' - First

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

album. *1988: ''En el alambre'' *1989: ''Llorarás, llorarás'' *1990: ''Un sueño que alguna vez soñe'' - Includes the Banquells music performances of Broadway musicals like '' Evita'' and ''

''). *1990: ''Escucha el infinito'' *1991: '' A mi viejo'' - Dedicated to her father. *1993: ''A la Virgen Morena'' - Tribute to the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

. *1993: '' Genio y figura'' *1995: ''La fuerza del amor'' *1996: ''Coincidir:Grandes Exitos'' *1998: ''Recuerdos de un sentimiento'' *2007: '' Nací para tí'' - Live in the Teatro de la Ciudad. *2018:
Siempre Regios
' (album Norteño) *2019:
Recuerdos De Oro
' (album Homenaje a Sonia Lopez)

Collaborations

* ''No me puedo escapar de ti'' (1986) - Duet with La Mafia * No me puedo escapar de ti (1987) - Duet with

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...

* ''La Bella y la Bestia'' ''(Beauty and the Beast)'' (1992) - Duet with Manuel Mijares * ''Las numero uno'' (2007) - Duet with many female singers * ''Todo por amor'' - (2008) Duet with

Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1934 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successful comp ...

Filmography

Dubbing

Theater

Awards and nominations

Premios ACE

Premios TVyNovelas The Premios TVyNovelas are presented annually by Televisa and the magazine TVyNovelas to honor the best Mexican television productions, including telenovelas. Instituted in 1983, the award ceremony rotates between Mexico City and Acapulco. The c ...

References

External links

Rocío Banquells Official WebsiteRocío Banquells' Biography
at esmas.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banquells, Rocio 1960 births Living people Mexican child actresses Mexican telenovela actresses Mexican television actresses Mexican film actresses Mexican stage actresses Ballad musicians Actresses from Monterrey Singers from Monterrey 20th-century Mexican actresses 21st-century Mexican actresses Mexican people of Catalan descent Mexican people of Cuban descent Mexican women pop singers Women in Latin music Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Politicians from Monterrey Politicians from Mexico City Party of the Democratic Revolution politicians Mexican actor-politicians Deputies of the LXV Legislature of Mexico Citizens' Movement (Mexico) politicians 21st-century Mexican women politicians