Maria del Carmen Rodriguez was born in
Buenos Aires around the year 1957. She has studied dance since her youth. During her teenage years, she took part in dances that were shown on television and in the theater, dancing mostly the
flamenco. After acting in many different Latin American countries, Maria returned to
Argentina in the middle of the decade in 1970. It was then she came to know
Carlos Rivarola, with whom she would be a dance and life partner, adopting from that point on the artistic name Maria Rivarola. Together, in 1975, they took part in a show, organized by Nelida and Nelson, which toured
Peru,
Colombia and
Venezuela. In addition, they acted as one of the regular partners for the television program
La Botica del Tango directed by Eduardo Bergara Leumann. In 1983, they joined a cast that premiered in the show
Tango Argentino, a theatrical dance production in which half of the thirty-five songs were choreographed, produced by Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli, in Paris. They toured the world for a decade. Maria and Carlos were then nominated, along with the other dancers, for the
Tony Award in 1986 for Best Choreography. Starting in 1984, the couple began traveling to
Japan every year, as they established a special artist connection there. In 1996, Carlos and Maria directed a show that they prepared for Japan entitled "Los Grandes del Tango Argentino". The show included the participation of
Juan Carlos Copes,
Maria Nieves, Nelida and Nelson, Mayoral and Elsa Maria, Carlos and Ines Borquez and the Color Tango Orchestra. Maria and Carlos also founded and maintained many tango clubs and academies in Japan located in
Tokyo,
Yokohama,
Nagoya and
Osaka. == Filmography ==