María Elena Walsh

María Elena Walsh

María Elena Walsh in the 1980s.
Born (1930-02-01)1 February 1930
Ramos Mejía, Argentina
Died 10 January 2011(2011-01-10) (aged 80)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Occupation Poet, author, musician, writer
Genre Children's literature, Autobiographical novel, poetry
Partner Sara Facio (1978–2011)
Signature

María Elena Walsh (1 February 1930 – 10 January 2011) was an Argentine poet, novelist, musician, playwright, writer and composer, mainly known for her songs and books for children, who has been considered a "living legend, cultural hero (and) crest of nearly every childhood".[1]

What was written by María Elena configures the most important work of all time in its genre, comparable to Lewis Carroll's Alice or Pinocchio, a work that revolutionized the way to understand the relationship between poetry and childhood.
— Leopoldo Brizuela[2]

Biography

María Elena Walsh and Leda Valladares, 1960.
Walsh signing copies of her books, 1962.
M.E. Walsh, 1971.
Walsh in 2008 with president Cristina Fernández.

María Elena Walsh was born in Villa Sarmiento, Ramos Mejía, Greater Buenos Aires, to an English railway worker, of Irish descent, who played the piano and an Argentine woman of Andalusian descent. As a child, she lived in a big house, where she greatly enjoyed reading and listening to music in a cultural environment.

When she was 15, Walsh had some of her poems published in El Hogar magazine and La Nación newspaper. In 1947, before graduating from art school, she published her first book, Otoño Imperdonable, a collection of poems which was critically acclaimed and received recognition from important Latin American writers.

After graduation in 1948, she traveled to North America invited by poet Juan Ramon Jiménez and Europe during the era of Peronism and then moved to Paris where she spent four years in the early 1950s. While there, Walsh performed in concerts featuring Argentine folklore with fellow Argentinean singer Leda Valladares (born 1919), forming the duo Leda & Maria and recording for Le chant du monde.[3]

She returned to Argentina in 1956 after the Revolución Libertadora. From 1958 onwards, Walsh wrote numerous TV scripts, plays, poems, books and songs, specially dedicated to young children. She was also a successful performer, singing her own songs onstage and recording them later in albums, like Canciones para mirar, Canciones para mí and El País de Nomeacuerdo. Juguemos en el mundo, also an album, was a satirical show for adults,[4] which also became a film of the same title with a story unrelated to the original stage show and songs recording.[5] The film was based on her characters Doña Disparate y Bambuco and was directed by her partner at that time, Maria Herminia Avellaneda (1933–1997).

Her work has often contained an underlying political message, as in the song El País del Nomeacuerdo ("The Country of I-Don't-Remember"), which was later used as the theme song for the film The Official Story, winner of the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

During the military dictatorship (1976–83) she was a fierce opponent, her song "Oración a la justicia" (Prayer for Justice) became a civil right anthem. In an open letter she criticized the regime censorship comparing the country with a preschool country calling it "Desventuras en el Pais-Jardin-de-Infantes" (Misadventures in the Preschool Country).

In 1985 she received the title of Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires, and in 1990 was named Doctor honoris causa of the National University of Cordoba and Illustrious People of Buenos Aires Province as well.

In 1994 she was Highly Commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, a prize awarded by the International Board on Books for Young People.[6]

She died of bone cancer in Buenos Aires at the age of 80 on 10 January 2011. Walsh, who was openly lesbian, lived with her partner, the photographer Sara Facio (born 1932) from 1980 until her death.[7][8]

Bibliography

Books

Walsh published her first poem at the age of 15, in El Hogar magazine of Argentina. Her favorite audience was children, for whom she wrote more than 40 books. The following list includes mainly complete books but also some long newspaper articles.[9]

Books for adults
Books for children

Notes:

Due to the publication of that article, Walsh herself would be censored by the Military Government of Argentina.

Discography

Walsh recorded many albums with songs for children and for adults too. Her first albums were strongly influenced by Argentine folklore, working with composer and singer Leda Valladares. The album Canciones para Mí was her first release as a soloist, containing the songs Canción de Tomar el Té and Manuelita la Tortuga (which had been previously edited on an EP). This would become Walsh's best-known song.[9]

as "Leda y María", with Leda Valladares
as "María Elena Walsh"

Notes:

References

  1. ↑ Patricio Lennard (2 November 2008). "Vida mía. Las memorias de María Elena Walsh. Entrevista exclusiva: la creadora de Manuelita presenta su nuevo libro autobiográfico" (in Spanish). Página/12 ("Radar" supplement). Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  2. ↑ Julieta Roffo (31 January 2010). "El universo de María Elena Walsh, vigente en el imaginario popular." (in Spanish). Clarín ("Ñ" supplement). Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  3. ↑ ruizbarreiro (10 January 2011). "leda valladares y maria elena walsh el paisanito.wmv". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  4. ↑ tito demoron. "Argentina, Music hall, María Elena Walsh, milagro en Buenos Aires". Magicasruinas.com.ar. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  5. ↑ filiguitar (8 June 2008). ""Juguemos en el mundo" de Maria Herminia Avellaneda −1971". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  6. ↑ "Hans Christian AndersenAward". Curriculum Lab. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Murió María Elena Walsh, Clarín, 10 January 2011 (in Spanish)
  8. ↑ http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/113237694.html. Retrieved 12 January 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. 1 2 María Elena Walsh, Suplemento Especial, Clarín, 11 January 2011
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