Valeria Gastaldi

Valeria Gastaldi entered the world on December 5, 1981. Maria and Marcos, her parents, observed an outgoing temperament and an independent streak in their daughter during her earliest years. Those same qualities steered her into school productions and stage activities across both elementary and high-school years. Drawn to singing, acting, and movement, she immersed herself in musical theater circles, which later took her briefly to New York for classes at the Stella Adler Theater School. Large-scale recognition arrived in 2001 when she auditioned for the reality series Popstars, modeled after American Idol. The exposure secured her a place in the newly formed girl group Bandana, whose popularity quickly swept across Argentina and neighboring countries. The ensemble issued two albums, then appeared in the feature film Vivir Intenando, whose strong box-office performance was matched by a best-selling soundtrack. Not long after the 2004 release of the trio’s third album, Hasta Siempre, the members went their separate ways.