Chayito Valdez
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Chayito Valdez (born May 28, 1945) is a Mexican entertainer associated with the folk music, culture and people of rural Mexico. She was born in the town of Orba, Bamoa, Guasave, in the state of Sinaloa, and since she was young she sang and participated in amateur competitions with songs such as "La Cigarra". Her godmother was Amalia Mendoza, a successful singer known as "La Tariacuri", and in the early 1970s she recorded four songs the Sinaloan city of Los Mochis: "Besos y Copas", "Una Noche me Embriagué", "Una Sombra" and "Amor que Muere", which earned her a reputation as a Mexican folk singer. She won the fifth Festival de la Canción Ranchera with the song "No me pregunten por él". During her 30-year career she overcame many personal difficulties and contributed over 300 hits and 1500 recorded songs to the Mexican musical heritage. Her musical legacy includes Corridos de Caballos (traditional Mexican ballads) such as "San Juan del Río", "Mi Soldadita", "La Gallera", "Los dos Alazanes", romantic boleros such as "Comprendeme", "Mía Nomás", "Sentencia", "Besos Callejeros", "No Vuelvas", "Ojazos Negros", and hundreds of other songs that are heard each day across all of Mexico, and parts of U.S. and Latin America. Chayito appeared in several films such as "Caballo Prieto Afamado", "Pasión por el Peligro", "La Hija del Contrabando", "En el camino Andamos", and "Peligro en la Frontera".
In 1987 she suffered an automobile accident that left her in a wheelchair, but after a long recovery began making public appearances again. In June 2003 she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and fell into a coma for 50 days. As of October 2003 she was recovering in the hospital.
Chayito Valdez, "The skylark of Mexico", will be remembered as one of the greatest interpreters of Mexican folkloric music in the company of Lucha Reyes, Lola Beltrán, María de Lourdes, Lucha Villa, and Amalia Mendoza, whose voices have left a great impression on the Mexican people.