Jovita Luna

Jovita Luna, born María Eugenia Luna on 11 June 1924 in Buenos Aires, was an Argentine singer and actress whose career spanned stage, film, and television across multiple decades and countries. She died in Buenos Aires on 12 January 2006 at the age of 81 and was buried in the Panteón of the Argentine Association of Actors at the Chacarita cemetery.

Luna began her professional life in 1932 as a member of the popular group Marilyn, alongside Nelly Prince and Alba Solís. She subsequently moved into theatre, working with Beba Bidart and Nélida Roca. In 1941, through the EPT company and under the direction of Luis José Bayón Herrera, she appeared in the drama Joven, viuda y estanciera, playing a Palomita as part of the duet known as The Palomitas. The production starred Mecha Ortiz and featured Santiago Arrieta and Santiago Gómez Cou.

Her theatrical career in Argentina was extensive. Among her stage credits were Two Hearts at the Theatre President Alvear in 1944, The History of Farce in 1946 with Malvina Pastorino, and The Other I of Marcela in 1962 at the El National theatre. She appeared in Lights of Buenos Aires in 1969, a work by Hugo de la Lane, and in 1972 took part in both Promises, Promises at the Theatre Odeon and The True History of Salomé at the Teatro General San Martín. In 1974 she was part of The Neighbours of Corrientes, a musical revue featuring Argentine female impersonator Jorge Perez Evelyn and comedian Pablo Palitos. In 1977 she played Mum Morton in Chicago at the El National, sharing the stage with Àmbar the Fox, Nélida Lobato, and Juan Carlos Thorry. Later stage work included Violated and Abandoned at the Theatre Maipo in 1981 and Annie at the Theatre Buenos Aires in 1982.

Luna's film work included the 1941 production Joven, viuda y estanciera, the 1951 musical picture El patio de la morocha, based on a tango by Mariano Mores and Cátulo Castillo who also wrote the screenplay, and the 1962 film Different, in which she played a Dancer for Àguila Films. In 1971 she was engaged to perform in Argentinísima, a film adaptation of a television program originally broadcast on Chronic TV with Julio Mahárbiz. That production featured Atahualpa Yupanqui, Mercedes Sosa, Eduardo Falú, Astor Piazzolla, and Norma Viale, with musical direction by Oscar Cardozo Ocampo, and it marked her final film appearance.

During the 1950s, Luna performed tangos and appeared in music-hall productions in France, Italy, and Brazil. In 1985 she took on a significant television role in Coraje Mamá, playing the character Catalina alongside María Aurelia Bisutti. The following year she joined the international production Tango Argentino, which toured multiple countries including the United States. Luna's Broadway appearances took place between 1985 and 1999, with Tango Argentino among her credited productions. In 1993 she toured France with the Greater Sextet, the Duet Salgán-De Lio, and vocalists including Roberto Goyeneche and María Graña, with choreography by Juan Carlos Copes, before continuing on to Italy and later returning to Paris.