Helenita Vargas

Colombian bolero / ranchera singer (Puerto Tejada, 3 Mar. 1934 - Cali, 7 Feb. 2011), also appears under her name Helena Vargas. She was the fourth daughter of the marriage of Eliécer Vargas and Susana Marulanda. It is said that as a child she was not a good student and that she learned to sing before reading. At the age of 16, he appeared before the outstanding Mexican singer, musician and composer Agustín Lara, approaching him at the Hotel Alférez de Cali, where the artist was staying. Vargas sang the song Farolito with him, which impressed Lara with the talent shown by the young artist. Her first single album earned her the following year her first Gold Record and the nickname that would distinguish her henceforth: "La Ronca De Oro", awarded to her by the Cuban journalist José Pardo Llada. He cemented his fame as a popular singer, adopting ranchera and suburban music on the advice of record producers, from which he built his own style.