Libertad Lamarque, 92, tango singer

[T.E. Goodell]

By AMADO FELIX
.c The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Libertad Lamarque, an Argentine actress and tango singer who
spent most of her career in Mexico after a run-in with Eva Peron, died Tuesday.
She was 92.

Lamarque was probably the most popular female tango singer ever, and was known
as ``America's sweetheart'' for her widespread popularity throughout Latin
America.

She died of respiratory failure on Tuesday, two weeks after entering a hospital
in Mexico City, where she was acting in the soap opera ``Carita de Angel,'' or
``Angelface.''

Lamarque made her debut as an actress in Argentina in 1924. Her singing career
took off at the same time, and by the 1930s, she was the country's most popular
tango singer.

Among her best-known songs were ``Nostalgia,'' ``When I Return to Your Side,''
``Inspiration,'' and ``In This Gray Afternoon.''

Lamarque was leading lady in numerous Argentine films in the 1930s and early
1940s, including ``Honeysuckle,'' ``Bewitching Kisses,'' and ``Encounter on the
Border.''

Her luck changed in 1945 when, while filming the movie ``The Circus
Procession,'' Lamarque slapped a young actress named Eva Duartes - who later
became known worldwide as ``Evita,'' wife of President Juan Peron and the most
powerful woman in Argentine history.

The confrontation had serious repercussions for Lemarque: When Peron became
first lady, she forbid radio stations and movie studios to hire Lamarque or
play her music.

In 1948, Lamarque moved to Mexico, where she filmed more than 60 movies and
recording 200 records. She returned briefly to Argentina to act in theater in
1971, and since then had divided her time between Mexico and Miami.

In Mexico, her best known roles were in the movies ``Music School,'' ``Gran
Casino'' and ``I, Sinner.''

She had acted in many Mexican soap operas beginning in 1980 with ``Solitude,''
and last year, at the age of 91, Lamarque accepted what would be her last role,
as a Mother Superior in ``Angelface.''

This year, Lamarque received the Mexican equivalent of an Oscar from the
Mexican Academy of Sciences and Cinematography in recognition of her
achievements.

A tireless traveler, Lamarque said in a recent television interview that she
always had energy, despite her age.

``I feel best when I'm working,'' she said.

Of her admiring Mexican fans, the Argentine performer said: ``There exists
between us a positive and very strong love that I never forget. I am in love
with them.''

Lamarque was born on Nov. 25, 1908, in Argentina. According to biographies, she
was the daughter of a militant anarchist who was detained at the time of her
birth and who asked that she be named ``Libertad,'' or ``Liberty.''

Lamarque is survived by her daughter, Mirtha Romero Lamarque. Funeral
arrangements were incomplete.

AP-NY-12-12-00 1616EST

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We all shine on
like the moon, and the stars, and the sun
--John Lennon