Her godmother was Amalia Mendoza, a successful singer known as "La Tariácuri", and in the early 1970s, she recorded four songs the Sinaloan city of Los Mochis: "Besos y Copas", "Una Noche me Embriagué", "Una Sombra", and "Amor que Muere", which earned her a reputation as a Mexican folk singer.

She won the fifth Festival de la Canción Ranchera with the song "No me pregunten por él".

[3] On September 17, 1985, she suffered an automobile accident that left her in a wheelchair, but after a long recovery began making public appearances again.

She spent her last days in a persistent vegetative state in a hospital in Coronado, California, where she died on 19 June 2016.

[3] During her 30-year career, Valdez contributed over 300 hits and 1500 recorded songs to the Mexican musical heritage.