If you happened to pay attention to Argentina’s men’s national football team during the 2026 World Cup, you definitely have come across music from legendary Argentine cumbia singer Gilda.

The key was to listen to the fans. 

Whether it was the stadium stands in the lead-up to a game, the get-together between matches (known as banderazos), or the celebrations following a win, you saw troves of them singing and dancing to “La cuarta estrella” (The fourth star).

The lyrics, which were written by Argentine musician Pablo Quintana (better known as Palmito Música), included many of the same references you might find in traditional stadium songs. There were calls to “avenge” Diego Maradona for his ban from the 1994 World Cup and win another cup with Lionel Messi (the mentioned “fourth star”), as well as tributes to the veterans of the Malvinas War. 

The catchy tune? That was the rhythm of “No me arrepiento de este amor” (I don’t regret this love), one of Gilda’s biggest hits and a song that continues to make Argentines dance decades after it was released.

Few could have predicted that in 2026 her music would be playing out of speakers across football stadiums. But then again, Gilda’s story is a unique tale. 

A rising star in the early 1990s, when cumbia was embraced solely by working classes and immigrant communities, Gilda’s life was unfortunately cut short when she died in a road accident in September 1996, thirty years ago. The tragedy, however, spurred her music to unforeseen heights, turning it into a driving force in the genre going mainstream. 

Her death also added a new dimension to her story, as heartbroken fans began spreading tales of seemingly impossible things happening thanks to the singer’s intervention. The stories began to grow, thus giving birth to the myth of a miracle maker: Santa Gilda.

A kindergarten teacher goes to an audition

Miriam Alejandra Bianchi, born in 1961 in the........

© Buenos Aires Herald