Even longtime enthusiasts of all things Mexican may not have heard of ranchero/mariachi singer Matilde Sanchez Elias (“La Torcacita”), who had to play second fiddle to the great Lucha Reyes during her career but, nonetheless, was a much loved performer.
Born in Tequila, Jalisco in 1927, Sanchez moved with her six siblings to Tampico, Tamaulipas when she was a small girl. She became a local radio star at the age of seven and made her professional debut as a teen, part of a duet with her sister Faustina called “Las Tapatias.”
The pair caught the attention of XEW (the forerunner of Televisa) broadcasting magnate Emilio Azcarraga, who didn’t like their name and changed it to “Las Torcacitas.” The siblings moved to Mexico City and achieved some success until Faustina decided to get married and end her singing career.
Back in Tampico, Sanchez was also weighing up whether to continue in show business when she was asked to stand in for an indisposed Lucha Reyes at the city’s main theater. She was nervous and had hardly practiced with the mariachi band. In addition, she agreed to interpret some of Reyes’ songs, but their styles were very different. Unable to copy some of the great singer’s vocal phonations, Sanchez decided to experiment with another register, falsete or falsetto, which later became her trademark. As she took to the stage, she told the audience that their reaction to her performance would be the barometer to determine if she would continue with her signing career. Applause meant she would carry on, boo and she would pack it in, she said. At the end, there was rapturous clapping and cheering, and she returned for several curtain calls.
As well as performing live and making appearances on radio and the nascent television system, Sanchez starred in several movies in the 1940s and 50s, a couple alongside acting greats Pedro Infante and Pedro Armendariz.
According to some residents of Tequila, Sanchez returned to her birthplace each December 8 to sing “Las Mañanitas” at 5 a.m. to her beloved Virgin of Purisma Concepcion (Tequila’s patron saint).
Sanchez died in 1988.
An exhibit titled “La Torcacita, la joven del falsete” opens at the Tequila Museum on Thursday, August 21, 5 p.m. as part of the National Encounter of Traditional Mariachis. A musical homage to her is scheduled at the Foro Jose Cuervo in Tequila on Thursday, August 20, 6 p.m.