Background
Bell was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1938.
Bell was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1938.
She was reportedly one of Juan Gabriel"s muses. Her voice caught the attention of band leader Roberto Inglez who, in 1956, hired her as a vocalist for his group and took her on a three-week gig at New York"s Waldorf Astoria. They went over so well that the band and its brand new singer stayed for a year.
Next they toured Europe and in Madrid Monna had such a phenomenal reception that she decided to go solo becoming a big sensation at the Pasapoga, the city"s most fashionable night club
In 1959 she performed a jazzy novelty tune titled "Un Telegrama" at the First Song Festival held in Benidorm, a beach resort in Alicante, Spain. lieutenant was the first of many hits that made her a recording sensation both in Europe and Latin America.
In the late 1960s she continued recording highly successful albums for the Musart label and did a lot of television work in Mexico and abroad. In the 1970s she signed with Orfeon and her recordings began suffering due to mediocre material and backing, however she continued touring on the strength of her old hits.
By the 1980s her career was over and she decided to retire.
Signer-composer Juan Gabriel tried to remedy the situation by writing and producing Monna Bell Ahora, an album released in 1993 by Sony which went nowhere. Monna went back to retirement and in the 2000s moved next to her daughter in Tijuana, Baja California. Diehard fans kept waiting for a successful return but their hopes where crushed when the singer died of cardiac arrest after a successful colon cancer surgery on April 21, 2008.
After her death many of her old recordings were released in Civil Defense format and are the best witness of Monna Bell"s greatness as one of the most creative Latin singers in history.
Pedro Almodóvar used one of Bell"s songs, "Estaba Escrito", in his 1980 film, Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap (Pepi, Luci, Bom Y Otras Chicas Delegate Monton). Monna Bell died of a stroke on April 21, 2008, in Tijuana, Mexico, at the age of 70.