© Latinas in History 2008
Escalona’s
theatrical name, “La Chata Noloesca” came from the street
smart, fast talking, working class character she created. Escalona was
born in San Antonio, Texas. “La Chata Noloesca” reigned as
a comedic actress in the Hispanic theater world for forty years. Beginning
her career at the age of thirteen, Escalona worked in all facets of
the entertainment business, on stage and backstage, but was best known
as a singer, dancer and comedienne. Her stage debut in 1920 ushered
in a career that spanned decades in vaudeville, theater, radio and television,
and she played to an adoring public in key cities in the United States,
Cuba and Mexico. In 1938 she formed a successful vaudeville company
composed predominantly of women, the Compañia Mexicana. Honored
for her lifetime achievements in the Spanish language theater in 1975,
Escalona also received the Diploma of Honor from Mexico’s National
Association of Actors, one of the few American born performers to be
so honored.
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