Irma Consuelo Cielo Serrano Castro (; born 9 December 1933) is a Mexican singer, actress and politician. Famous for her "tantalizing", "untamed spitfire" voice, she is one of the most noted performers of the ranchera and corrido genres; she was nicknamed La Tigresa de la Canción Ranchera and later known simply as "La Tigresa" (). At the same time, she developed a film career of more than a dozen films. In the 1970s and 1980s, Serrano achieved great success as an actress and producer in a series of controversial stage plays, highlighting the controversial play Naná (1973). In the decade of the 1990s, she also ventured into politics and occupied a seat in the Mexican Senate. In her later years, she was the center of multiple scandals and controversies. She has appeared in celebrity gossip magazines and television shows because of her political career as senator of her home state of Chiapas from 1994 to 1997. Early life Serrano is the third of three children (Mario, Yolanda, and Irma). Her father, Santiago Serrano Ruiz "El Chanti" (25 July 1897 – 17 December 1957), was a distinguished author, poet, and politician born in Suchiapa. Her mother, María Castro Domínguez, was a local aristocrat who owned various haciendas. Her older siblings were Mario and Yolanda. Her parents divorced when she was 7 years old. She is a cousin of poet, author, and diplomat Rosario Castellanos. Career Music Irma Serrano began her artistic career as a dancer in the choreographic group directed by the dancer Chelo La Rué. Later, Serrano began her career as singer when signing a contract with Columbia Records in 1962. In 1963, she won several awards such as the Folklore Revelation Trophy, the Macuilxóchitl as the Revelation Songwriter and the Musa Trophy of Radiolandia. Serrano became one of the most popular Mexican folk music artists of the 1960s. One of her most remembered songs is the corrido of La Martina, considered a classic of the Mexican folk genre. Film She began her career in films at age 29 in the movie Samson vs. the Zombies, starring the popular Mexican wrestler El Santo (Samson). She works on films like The Extra (1962), opposite Cantinflas, Tiburoneros (1963, directed by Luis Alcoriza), and Gabino Barrera (1964) along with the actor and singer Antonio Aguilar, among others. From 1968, begins to use the pseudonym of La Tigresa (The Tigress), taken from a comic