In: Madrid, Spain
Died: 03/25/2006 In: Madrid, Spain
Actress and singer Maria de los Angeles de las Heras Ort?z, popularly known as Roc?o Durcal, was born and raised in Spain in the bosom of a working-class family. While Maria was studying at Sagrado Coraz?n de Jes?s, she started to get captivated by music. Supported by her grandfather, Maria participated in festivals and radio station contests. At the age of 15, while singing the song "La Sombra Vendo" on a TV show called Primer Aplauso, Maria was contacted by producer Luis Sanz, who signed her up. Soon after, she started taking singing and dancing lessons with Lola de Arag?n and Alberto Lorca as teachers. From that time, Maria began working as Roc?o Durcal, a name taken from a Spanish province and used for the first time in her movie Canci?n de Juventud, followed by 1962's Roc?o de la Mancha, both directed by Luis Lucia. At the age of 17 D?rcal started touring Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the U.S., where the artist was invited to Ed Sullivan's TV show. In 1968 her albums Mis 19 Canciones de Juventud and Siempre were released. Two years later, the young artist got married to singer Antonio Morales, known as Junior. Together they toured Spain and America during the early '70s. In 1976 Roc?o Durcal met Juan Gabriel, and he convinced her to perform a popular Mexican style known as ranchera. In the '80s, Roc?o Durcal moved to romantic ballads, working along with prominent songwriters such as Juan Carlos Calderon, Roberto Livi, and Marco Antonio Sol?s. After a three-year battle with cancer, Durcal died in her home in Madrid on March 25, 2006. ~ Drago Bonacich, Rovi
Rocío Dúrcal
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