Altagracia Ugalde Mota (born January 10, 1971), much better known as Ana Barbara, is a Mexican singer from the state of San Luis Potosi.

Her sister, Viviana Ugalde , was a teenaged singer of some notoriety across San Luis Potosi when Ana Barbara was a small girl. Ana Barbara usually attended her sister's concerts, which made her want to become a singer herself.

Ana Barbara would become a beauty queen before she reached stardom as a singer: in 1988, she became "Miss San Luis Potosi", going on to represent her state in the Miss Universe-sponsored Miss Mexico beauty contest. She lost in her bid to become Miss Mexico, however.

Ana Barbara had some hard times ahead of her. Despite winning many singing contests and not giving up on her dreams of becoming a singer, she thought many times that she would never become famous. That started to change in 1993, when she was proclaimed the "Ambassador of Ranchera music", and she also earned the "Rostro Bonito de el Heraldo" ("The Herald's Beautiful Face") award.

In 1994, Ana Barbara signed with Televisa's musical company, Fonovisa. Under the Fonovisa label, she launched her first CD, the self titled "Ana Barbara ". Her song, "Sacudeme" ("Shake Me"), became a hit in Mexico.

Ana Barbara did not reach much international fame until after the death of Mexican American singer Selena in 1995, however. When Ana Barbara's self titled CD was released to Hispanic listeners in the United States, it was advertised on television, as a dedicatory to Selena, and she added a song, also named "Selena", to the CD prior to it's American release.

From there on, her career took on a metheorical ascent, and she became known all over Latin America. She continued on releasing new CDs and she became a favorite among hispanic music listeners.

Her private life became paparazzi fodder, as she was one of Mexico's most spoken about singers. Her romance with popular imitator Julio Sabala in particular gave magazines much to talk about between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. There were rumors that the couple was actually considering getting married. Since Sabala is a Dominican who resides in Spain, Ana Barbara also became very well known in Europe. After their long romance, however, the couple broke up on what Sabala described as "amicable terms".

In 2005, Ana Barbara's romance with billionaire businessman and boxer Jorge Kahwagi became publicly known.

Ana Barbara is the mother of a small boy. She has said that she does not use her real name because she dislikes it. Another Mexican diva, Lucia Mendez, said that Ana Barbara is "the queen of ranchera music, and no one is close to her in that area".

External Links

Ana Barbara on FullLatin.com