Lona Warren

Lona Warren (17 December 1922 - 21 July 2007) was an Argentine jazz and blues singer, journalist and composer.

Early life Dafne Elba Elvira Roca, better known by her stage name Lona Warren, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 December 1922. Her mother's family owned the "El Central" hotel in the city of Villa Gobernador Gálvez, Santa Fe province. The hotel was later run, unsuccessfully, by her father. Warren attended an English language school from the age of three. Her mother died in 1935. Warren continued to live with her father although spent around a year with a family in Rosario. At the age of 14, through listening to recordings, she realised that she liked jazz. Some time later, she travelled to Buenos Aires with her father to stay with an aunt and cousin, Orlando, a young fan of jazz music. Father and daughter stayed in Buenos Aires and her education continued, first at Pensionado de las Madres Franciscanas and then at the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento teacher training college. Warren completed her training as an English teacher at Codwell Academy around the age of 20 and could then be employed in this profession. She was proficient in French, Portuguese and Italian as well as English.

Career While at the Codwell Academy, she met Raúl Sánchez Reynoso, the director of the Santa Paula Serenaders orchestra, who hired her as a singer. Her first appearance was 15 November 1942 and she was an immediate success.

She adopted a stage name at Sánchez Reynoso's suggestion and chose Lona Warren. Multiple accounts tell of why she selected this name. She has said she chose 'Lona' from the writer Lona O'Day but also that the name was inspired by her cousin, boxer Amílcar Brusa, saying that canvas (lona in Spanish) was the characteristic feature of boxing.

By 1943, she had performed with Joe Ríspoli in Cuatro Reyes y una Reina, Don Dean and appeared on Radio Belgrano with big band leader Raúl Marengo. In 1946 she joined the third formation of the Cotton Pickers band. She then worked for three years with Eduardo Ferri and then as a soloist at the Violin Bar, a Hungarian venue directed by the violinist Sandor. Between 1946 and 1947 she sang with Héctor Lomuto's orchestra.

In 1946, Cotton Pickers 2 was re-formed under Ahmed Ratip, with whom she performed and recorded until 1950. From 1947 until the 1950s, she made about fifteen records with them. In 1950 she appeared on the programme Radio The World with music conducted by Pierre Maffeu. In 1951, she appeared as a soloist on an RCA Victor recording with an orchestra led by Vieri Fidanzini where she sang Hombre al que amo. She also appeared on the cover of Radio Film magazine. Warren continued singing, especially in musical comedies until 22 April 1986. She appeared on the program Los Miedos on Channel 9 in 1982.

She died in Buenos Aires on the 21st of July, 2007.