Elena Lucena

Mara Elena Lucena Arcuri was an Argentine film actress of the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema . She began her career in radio in the 1930s and reached her greatest success with the role of Chimbela, which was later depicted in film, theater and television. Her extensive film career includes approximately 50 films, including notable performances in Chimbela and Una noche cualquiera . During the 1940s she participated in films with comedians like Pepe Arias, Pepe Iglesias El Zorro, Nin Gambier160 , Mirtha Legrand and Carlos Estrada. Her most acclaimed film work occurred in Elvira Fernndez, vendedora de tienda by Manuel Romero, Cinco besos by Luis Saslavsky and La Rubia Mireya for which she received the 1948 Best Comedy Actress Award from the Argentine Film Critics Association.

Lucena was born onSeptember 1914 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was working as a seamstress, getting paid eighty cents per dozen shirts made, when she made a radio test to sing tangos. Her mother was against it, but it paid 60 pesos per month. She took the contract at Radio Belgrano. Beginning as a singer in 1937, she soon moved from singing into acting, reading tragic parts on Radio Belgrano, where it was noted that she had an expressive face. She moved to the National Radio as part of an acting troupe Estampas porteas and soon after, caught the attention of Arsenio Mrmol. He created a character called Chimbela for her which she performed on radio and later on film, theater and television. Almost immediately the role brought success and she began touring the country, and appeared on both the Teatro Palmolive and Radio Cine Lux.

Source: Wikipedia