Karina (Spanish singer)

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Karina
Karina, 1971 Eurovision song contest.
Karina, 1971 Eurovision song contest.
Background information
Birth nameMaría Isabel Llaudes Santiago
Born (1945-12-04) 4 December 1945 (age 78)
Jaén, Spain
GenresYé-yé
Years active1961–present
Labels
Spouse(s)
    (m. 1973; div. 1975)
    Carlos Manuel Díaz
    (m. 1981; div. 1987)
    Juan Miguel
    (m. 1988; div. 1990)
    Domingo Torroba
    (m. 2000; div. 2002)

María Isabel Llaudes Santiago (born 4 December 1945),[1][2] better known by her stage name Karina, is a Spanish singer and actress who had her biggest success from the late 1960s until the mid-1970s in Spain and Latin America. She represented Spain at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "En un mundo nuevo", where she placed second.

Career[edit]

After having entered several radio contests, she was chosen to sing on a flexi disc that a brand of car lubricant gave away with the purchase of its products, which was the first song she recorded, "Bikini Amarillo"[a]. She subsequently recorded several albums with RCA,[3] and participated in the 1961 Benidorm International Song Festival with the song "No preguntes por qué".[4] She became known to the Spanish audience in 1963 when she starred in the television musical show Escala en hi-fi [es] on Televisión Española (TVE), and in the film adaptation of it.[5]

In 1965, she signed with Hispavox where she recorded "Muñeca de cera"[b] and the contemporary versions in Spanish and Portuguese of the James Bond song "Goldfinger". Also in 1965, she participated in the Mallorca International Song Festival [es] with the song "Me lo dijo Pérez", placing second.[c][6] In 1966, she was awarded as the Best Yé-yé Singer. Several of her songs, like "Romeo y Julieta"[d], "Las flechas del amor"[e], "El baúl de los recuerdos [es]", and "La fiesta"[f] became hits in Spain.[7] She also starred in several films such as Los chicos del Preu [es] and Would You Marry Me? (both in 1967), and in La chica de los anuncios [es] (1968).

In 1970, she participated in Pasaporte a Dublín [es], TVE's national selection for the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest. She won the selection, so she represented Spain in Eurovision with the song "En un mundo nuevo" where she placed second, bested only by Monaco's contestant Séverine with her song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue". She recorded "En un mundo nuevo" also in French[g], German[h], English[i], and Italian[j].[8] After Eurovision she starred in the same-titled film En un mundo nuevo, which was inspired by her participation at the contest and which shows real footage of it.[9] At the end of the yé-yé years she moved to Mexico where she became moderately successful singing rancheras. She is still performing today.

In 2023, Karina was a celebrity guest in the episode Snatch Game - España Season 3 of the reality television show Drag Race España on ATRESplayer Premium.[10] Also in 2023, she participated in the eighth season of the reality show Gran Hermano VIP on Telecinco, quitting after twenty-five days.[11]

Personal life[edit]

Karina was born in Jaén, Andalusia to Trinidad Santiago and Salvador Llaudes. She has been married four times and has two daughters.[12] In recent years, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer but has since made a full recovery.[13]

Discography[edit]

Selected LP[edit]

  • 1966: "Karina Vol. I"
  • 1968: "Karina Vol. II"
  • 1970: "Karina Vol. III"
  • 1970: "Colores"
  • 1971: "Pasaporte a Dublín"
  • 1972: "Tiempo al tiempo"
  • 1972: "Lo mejor de Karina"
  • 1973: "Lo mejor de Karina"
  • 1974: "Lady Elizabeth"
  • 1974: "Juntos para ayudarte"
  • 1978: "Karina"
  • 1985: "El disco de oro de Karina"
  • 1991: "Soy como soy"
  • 1995: "Primera época (1961–1964)"

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Spanish-language version of Brian Hyland's song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini"
  2. ^ Spanish-language version of France Gall's song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
  3. ^ Karina, and another contestant Adriángela [es], also won a fifteen-day trip to Sweden with all expenses paid.
  4. ^ Spanish-language version of the German song "Romeo und Julia"
  5. ^ Spanish-language version of Leapy Lee's song "Little Arrows"
  6. ^ Spanish-language version of Marty Wilde's song "Abergavenny"
  7. ^ As "Un monde plus grand et plus beau"
  8. ^ As "Wir glauben an morgen"
  9. ^ As "Tomorrow I'm coming your way"
  10. ^ As "Un mondo nuovo"

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Karina".
  2. ^ "Karina: "Me van a matar, pero Pedro Sánchez es como una flor de primavera, soplas y se queda sin pétalos"". 30 April 2017.
  3. ^ Medianoche, Mike (14 March 2017). "Cuando Karina se llamaba Maribel Llaudés". Sufridores en Casa (in Spanish).
  4. ^ "Cosecha de 1961". RTVE (in Spanish). 7 August 2011.
  5. ^ Morales Pérez, Sonia (27 July 2017). ""Escala en Hi Fi" o el orígen del videoclip en España". RTVE (in Spanish).
  6. ^ "Premios del Festival de la Canción de Mallorca". ABC (in Spanish). 20 June 1965. p. 105.
  7. ^ "Las mejores canciones de Karina, las de verdad". MusickMAG (in Spanish). 20 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Eurovision 1971 - Spain". The Diggiloo Thrush.
  9. ^ "Karina, protagonista de "En un mundo nuevo"". Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (in Spanish). 9 July 2022.
  10. ^ "El clásico Snatch Game llega al quinto programa 'Drag Race España 3'". Odiomalley.com (in Spanish). 16 May 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  11. ^ ""Ya has cumplido": 'GH VIP 8' facilita el abandono de Karina, que deja la casa entre lágrimas". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 8 October 2023.
  12. ^ Ortiz, Laura (24 September 2023). "Las cuatro polémicas bodas de Karina: con Tony Luz, Carlos Manuel Díaz, Juan Miguel y Domingo Terroba". Semana (in Spanish).
  13. ^ Albert, María (18 January 2024). "Las tragedias de la vida de Karina: sin dinero para pagar la luz y la grave enfermedad de su nieta". ABC (in Spanish).

External links[edit]

Preceded by Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
1971
Succeeded by