María Elena Walsh Explained

María Elena Walsh
Partner:Sara Facio (1978–2011)
Birth Date:1930 2, df=yes
Birth Place:Ramos Mejía, Argentina
Death Place:Buenos Aires, Argentina
Occupation:Poet, author, musician, writer
Genre:Children's literature, Autobiographical novel, poetry
Signature:María Elena Walsh firma.png

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. Her work includes many of the most popular children's books and songs of all time in her home country.

Biography

María Elena Walsh was born in Villa Sarmiento, Morón, Greater Buenos Aires, to a railway worker of English and Irish descent who played the piano, and a woman of Spanish 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 that was critically acclaimed and received recognition from important Latin American writers.[1] [2]

After graduation in 1948, she traveled to North America at the invitation of poet Juan Ramón 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 Argentine singer Leda Valladares (born 1919), forming the duo "Leda & María" and recording for Le chant du monde. Some of these recordings were exchanged with "Topic Records" in England in the late 1950s.[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 was made into a film of the same title, albeit 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).[6]

Her work has often contained an underlying political message, as in the song El País del Nomeacuerdo ("I-Don't-Remember Land"), 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.[7]

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 to a preschool, calling it "Desventuras en el Pais-Jardin-de-Infantes" (Misadventures in the Preschool Country).[8]

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.[9]

Walsh has been considered a "living legend, cultural hero (and) crest of nearly every childhood".[10]

Death

María Elena Walsh died of bone cancer in Buenos Aires, aged 80, on 10 January 2011.

Personal life

Walsh's partner from 1978 until her death in 2011 was Sara Facio (born 18 April 1932), an Argentine photographer, best-known herself for having photographed, along with Alicia D'Amico, various cultural personalities, including Argentine writers Julio Cortázar and Alejandra Pizarnik.[11] [12]

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.[13]

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.[13]

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

Notes:

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Associated Press. 11 January 2011. Maria Elena Walsh, Argentine writer and singer, dies at 80. 16 November 2021. Washington Post.
  2. Web site: Maria Elena Walsh Argentine writer, 80. 16 November 2021. Philadelphia Inquirer. 15 January 2011 . en.
  3. Web site: ruizbarreiro. leda valladares y maria elena walsh el paisanito.wmv. https://web.archive.org/web/20160114114110/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwuC-oPPFOY . 14 January 2016 . dead. YouTube. 10 January 2011. 11 December 2011.
  4. Web site: tito demoron . Argentina, Music hall, María Elena Walsh, milagro en Buenos Aires. Magicasruinas.com.ar. 11 December 2011.
  5. Web site: filiguitar . "Juguemos en el mundo" de Maria Herminia Avellaneda −1971. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/BBxnVqmxep4 . 19 December 2021 . live. YouTube. 8 June 2008. 11 December 2011.
  6. News: Marmol De Moura . Marcelo . María Elena Walsh, la dueña de las emociones . 19 January 2022 . Radio Continental . PRISA . 10 January 2022 . es.
  7. Web site: Gleeson . Bridget . Argentina as muse: works of art inspired by Argentine landscapes . Lonely Planet . 19 January 2022 . en.
  8. Web site: Muro. Valentín. 4 March 2020. Meet the Argentine Songwriter Who Defied Dictatorship With Children's Songs. 16 November 2021. Culture Trip.
  9. Web site: Hans Christian Andersen Award. Curriculum Lab. 17 July 2014.
  10. Web site: Patricio Lennard. Vida mía. Las memorias de María Elena Walsh. Entrevista exclusiva: la creadora de Manuelita presenta su nuevo libro autobiográfico . Spanish. Página/12 ("Radar" supplement). 2 November 2008 . 18 June 2012.
  11. Book: M.L. Sougez. H. Pérez Gallardo. Diccionario de historia de la fotografía. 2003. Ediciones Cátedra. Madrid. 84-376-2038-4. 166.
  12. http://www.revistaenie.clarin.com/escenarios/musica/Murio-infantil-Maria-Elena-Walsh_0_406159560.html Murió María Elena Walsh
  13. María Elena Walsh, Suplemento Especial, Clarín, 11 January 2011