Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Dancer Yolanda Montez, better known as Tongolele, talks about a photograph in her home, during an interview ...

“I never thought, ‘I want to be famous.' I just wanted to dance,” she said in a 2014 interview with The Associated Press at her Mexico City home. “I didn’t even realize that I was a star ...

FILE - Dancer Yolanda Montez, better known as Tongolele, talks about a photograph in her home, during an interview in Mexico City, March 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File) ...

MEXICO CITY – Tongolele, the iconic American dancer who transformed the nightlife scene in mid-20th century Mexico City with her hip movements to the sound of drums, has died at the age of 93.

“I never thought, ‘I want to be famous.’ I just wanted to dance,” she said in a 2014 interview with The Associated Press at her Mexico City home. “I didn’t even realize that I was a star of the show, ...