Beltrán was born in the town of
El Rosario, Sinaloa where she was schooled by Carmelite nuns. Her mother enjoyed singing and her father managed a mine. She pestered the radio station to be allowed to sing. The station and listeners were so impressed that within a year she had her own radio show. Beltrán credits the station with giving her a chance, which enabled her to make a career. It was there that she met the songwriter
Tomás Méndez who composed songs for her, including the international hits "
Cucurrucucú paloma" and "Tres Dias". Beltrán was the first wife of the
matador and film actor and had a daughter with him, singer María Elena Leal. She entered the world of film in 1954 in
El Tesoro de la Muerte. After appearing in dozens of films, most of them musicals, she obtained a starring role in the
telenovela Mi rival with
Saby Kamalich. In cinema, Beltrán made her film debut on
El cantor del circo (1940), an
Argentine film. She also shared credits with Mexican movie stars such as
Emilio Fernández,
Ignacio López Tarso,
Katy Jurado,
María Félix and
Pedro Armendáriz in
La Bandida (1962). Her last film appearance was in
Una gallina muy ponedora (1982) sharing credits with
Columba Domínguez. As a television presenter, she hosted the programs
Noches tapatías (1976) and her own television program entitled
El estudio de Lola Beltrán (1984), programs in which she received stars such as
Cornelio Reyna,
Juan Gabriel,
Lucha Villa,
La Prieta Linda and
Luis Miguel. Beltrán is considered one of the most successful
ranchera artists of all time. She gave concerts before various world leaders: President
Charles de Gaulle of
France, the leader of
Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito,
Soviet foreign minister
Andrei Gromyko,
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev,
King of Spain Juan Carlos I and
Queen Sofia,
Queen Elizabeth II, American Presidents
Dwight D. Eisenhower,
John F. Kennedy,
Lyndon B. Johnson and
Richard Nixon and
Presidents of Mexico Adolfo Ruiz Cortines and
Carlos Salinas de Gortari. She was the first ranchera singer to perform at the
Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), the premier opera house and concert hall in Mexico. She also sang in the
Olympia Music Hall in
Paris, the
Tchaikovsky Hall in
Moscow and the
Conservatory of Leningrad (now
Saint Petersburg) in the former Soviet Union. Beltrán was honored in 1995 with her inclusion into a series of commemorative postage stamps, issued by her native Mexico, honoring 'Popular Idols of Radio'. This was done in recognition of her lifetime achievement in the realm of popular music and her success in spreading an appreciation of Mexican culture throughout the world. ==Death==