Susana Natividad Rinaldi (born 25 December 1935) is an Argentine tango singer. Dubbed “La Tana,” she was born Susana Natividad Rinaldi in Buenos Aires on December 25, 1935. The daughter of a wealthy father and a poor mother, she spent her childhood moving throughout different provinces of Argentina. At 14 she began studying chamber singing at the National Conservatory of Music, and in 1955 she entered the School of Dramatic Art. Two years later, she made her TV debut and in 1959 she went on the stage with famous stars. When she was asked to record a poetry concert in 1966 she offered them a tango album. By the end of that year, she had her first album with music arranged by bandoneon player Roberto Pansera. Her success prompted her to slowly give up acting and launch her career as a singer. After touring around tango bars and milongas, Susana Rinaldi gained fame as a singer at the end of that year. She called the attention of her audience by singing tangos which up to then had only been sung by males, tangos by José María Contursi, Enrique Santos Discepolo, Homero Manzi and Cátulo Castillo. This gave her a deserved reputation among a new audience made up mostly of young university students. She achieved fame when she incorporated into her repertoire songs by new authors, such as Eladia Blázquez, Osvaldo Avena, Héctor Negro and Chico Novarro. During the military dictatorship, Rinaldi was forced to leave the country. After a long stay in Paris, she has returned with an innovative idea of a tango-show. Due to this, she was again rejected by traditional tango listeners, although she did become one of the main figures of the renewal of style. Her tireless defence of human rights and her passionate promotion of a more just and peaceful world have earned her the title of "Ciudadano Ilustre de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires" An artist with a political conscience, she supports her ideals about music in international concert tours as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador since 1992.
