Mirla Castellanos, is a noted Venezuelan singer with a career spanning over 40 years. Often referred to as "La Primerísima", she started her career as a singer with the band "Cuarteto Los Naipes" in the 1960s before taking up a solo career.[1] Moving to Europe in the late 1960s, she recorded music by composers such as Domenico Modugno, with whom she later performed a duet of the song "Meraviglioso" during the preliminary of the 1968 Festival San Remo; she didn’t make the cut for the finals . In 1969, Castellanos won the Benidorm International Song Festival with a composition by Manuel Alejandro.[1] After returning to South America in 1970, she took second place in the Latin American Song Festival.[1] With the support of shows such as Sábado Sensacional and her own live show "Primerísima," Castellanos furthered her reputation in the 1970s and 1980s, making her first appearance in New York at the Chateau Madrid in 1976.[2]