he was a dark-haired beauty with big dark eyes. All or nearly all the fans of our city music have heard about her some time and, no doubt, it’s logical. Linda Thelma shared with Pepita Avellaneda the privilege of being one of the pioneers of our tango.

Her name was Ermelinda Spinelli and her origins are as mysterious as tango itself. Supposedly she was born in 1884, but her death certificate says that she died at age 49, consequently the date of her birth would be in 1890.

About this issue, as the obituary news in the La Nación daily paper published on July 24, 1939, inform that she died at age 55, without mentioning her birthplace, we conclude that it probably was in 1884.

Furthermore, a note published on the Crítica newspaper, in 1915, announced the celebration of her twenty-fifth anniversary with the tonadilla. Had it been so, she would have made her debut in 1890, in contradiction with the death certificate. In sum, her birth took place in 1884 or before.

Chroniclers of the time have regarded Linda as criolla or Italo-criolla and even though her family name evidences Italian roots, we completely ignore where she was born.

According to the ad in the Crítica paper, she was a six-year-old child when she made her debut as tonadillera. In 1904 she started her career in theater with the Jerónimo Podestá’s theater company. Later she was member of the Guillermo Battaglia’s and the Atilio Supparo’s companies.

Her career in theater was varied, she played in comedies and variety shows until she devoted fully to performing aires criollos (Argentine folk tunes) and tangos. She started in music hall in 1909 at the Roma theater located on 462 25 de Mayo Street and —according to what she says in an interview— «...at that theater neither decent scripts nor women that pretended to be decent ladies were admitted.»

As from 1910, her name became well known and her face, familiar. A magazine published in August 1917, Mundo Argentino, defined her as an «Argentine female singer that performs national airs». By that time she was appearing at the Esmeralda theater. Seventeen months later, in that same magazine a beautiful photography of this pretty artist appeared on the front cover.

All her appearances were outstanding and successful. She reached fame, acclaim and was loved by audiences. She used to appear on stage in gaucho costume with spurs and patent leather boots preceding what the great Azucena Maizani would do much later. But critics were not as agreeable with her and many times treated her ruthlessly, even though they always recognized her popularity.

Her voice was very peculiar, maybe it does not please our modern ears, but we have neither to set aside her oeuvre nor to discredit her career. She was one of the first women who dared to approach the genre.

She traveled, she brought tango to the Old World, she sang in Spain and in Paris. In the French capital she appeared at the legendary Moulin Rouge invited by Madame Rasimi. There she met maestro Francisco Canaro, who offered her to be female singer in his orchestra. She traveled with him to New York in 1926.

Later in 1929, Linda’s life changed unexpectedly. On a trip to Peru, also accompanied by success and applause, she came to know the president Augusto Leguía (1864-1932) and started a love affair with him. She settled in Lima. There she owned racing horses, luxurious automobiles that amazed the society of Lima and managed to be a host of splendid parties in accordance to her new life style. But this did not last long, in August 1930 a military insurrection overthrew the president and she was deported.

Life became difficult for her and she found impossible to go uphill. Her career began to decline and she harvested bitterness where she before was successful, empty spaces where before she had crowded theaters. She no longer attracted the audience's attention. Then very sad evenings came when she appeared at theaters or at intermission shows at movie theaters. Her grief, her disappointment was deep and things never again would be as they used to be. Linda Thelma's fame was over, other figures, other styles took her place and people were forgetting her.

As an example of this there is a León Benarós's note in the Todo es Historia magazine nº 268 which reproduces the obituary note by José González Carbalho published in the newspaper Crítica (July 24, 1939) which was titled: «No one accompanied Linda Thelma's corpse».

In it its author recalls: «Four or five years ago, at a movie theater on Bernardo de Irigoyen Street... we saw an ad announcing Linda Thelma. The billboard said: "Today: Linda Thelma's debut after her successful tour of Australia". Perhaps it was true. So we went. The price for a seat at the stalls was thirty cents and the program included four pictures. There was a large audience in the neighborhood that, no doubt, ignored who the female singer was. She appeared from the torn scenery, a curtain with a Trianon design or something of the kind. She wore evening clothes that seemed plissé, but they were full of creases. Her silhouette had neither elegance nor finesse. She pretended to sing and the audience began to shout and kick on the floor, then she declined to return...»

Her last performance, according to the researcher Hugo Lamas, was at the Teatro Cómico in August 1934 at the show named Café Concierto 1900 by Ivo Pelay and Asdrúbal Salinas.

After she retired she lived on 2415 Santa Fe Avenue, secluded and alien to show business. Around 1933, the Sintonía magazine remembered her as a glory of days gone by. Four years later, in 1937, people saw her at the burial of the Carlos Gardel's old-time guitarist, José Ricardo, leaving a wreath in memory of the deceased.

On July 23, 1939 Linda Thelma passed away. She died at the Hospital Rawson and her remains rest in the actors' pantheon at the Cemetery in Chacarita. Today very few remember who she was; her voice, somewhat anachronistic for our ears, is gone.

Her recording career began in 1908, with the Odeon and Era companies. 14 numbers were identified, five as soloist: “El pilluza”, “El pechador” (tangos) and “Viejo perdido” (estilo), among them; eight in duo with Angel Villoldo, as well as the dialogues “El marido borracho” and “El lechero y la sirvienta”, and another with R. Sánchez.

Between 1922 and 1923 she recorded ten pieces for the Victor label, among them we have: “Mi mala cara” (sad song), “Mi ñata” (comic estilo) and “Por cumplir” (cifra criolla). As a curiosity we may add that the record that contains the latter number has on the other side “Siempre criolla”, Rosita Quiroga's first recording.

Sometimes her deep eyes that stare at us through an old photo seem to reproach us for the oblivion to which we have led one of the major figures of our song.