Paulina Álvarez was born Raimunda Paula Peña Álvarez on June 29, 1912 in Cienfuegos, Cuba. By the time she was eight or nine years old she was singing at parties and school functions. In 1926, at age 14, her family moved to Havana, where she started her professional singing career in societies, theatres and radio shows. She sang boleros and canciones, but quickly became specialized in a new style of sung danzón influenced by the son cubano called danzonete. In 1931 she became the singer for Orquesta Elegante, directed by Edelmiro Pérez and featuring pianist Obdulio Morales.
