María Salgado was born in Toro in the province of Zamora, Spain. From the beginning she assimilated and became familiar with the basis and sources of traditional folk music. In Segovia, the great master of Castilian music Agapito Marazuela revealed to her the essence of genuine traditional interpretation. In fact, on the basis of his teachings she made a great recording of songs taken from the “Cancionero de Castilla” which Marazuela painstakingly recovered at the beginning of the 20th century. In Canciones De Amor y Trabajo, María Salgado rearranged old melodies and included the most modern musical instruments. This she did in such a way that these vigorous songs lose none of their true spirit.
With her other tutor, Joaquín Díaz, she came to realize the importance of knowing and loving the recent past and she learned to re-discover it from a different angle from a more human and wiser view point. She took part in and collaborated in numerous recordings with Joaquín. Together they worked with other folk musicians such as Raíces, Candeal and Angel Carril on El Calendario Del Pueblo a project made up of several volumes.
These early beginnings give us a better understanding of María Salgado´s full and artistic development. Several solo recordings and many collaborations and joint recordings prove this her constant search for originality but always starting from the very depths of things from the essence of artistic being no matter what this may be or wherever it may be found.
There are few back-ups as essential as poetry and María has sung verses by Luis López Alvarez (her version of the Romance De La Reina Juana always seems different in each performance), works by Luís Díaz Viana of which she has made two mono recordings – Recuerdo and Profecía Por España ( a disc with Lorca echoes and one of Jesús Quintero’ s most frequently performed in “El Loco de la Colina”) and “La Ultima Dama”. She has also taken part in the recording made in honor of the Cuban composer María Teresa Vera together with Martirio, Omara Portuondo and Pablo Guerrero.
Poetry in the words, a fine sensibility in the interpretation variety in the themes –these are some of the ingredients used by María Salgado over the last years to create a widely recognized and tremendously coherent career. She can claim that thanks to her recording Mirándote it is clear that there are Habaneras from inland, away from the coast, which are just as beautiful and mysterious as those from the Mediterranean. In a recording made with Sudanese singer Rasha and Galician singer “La Sal de la Vida” she has clearly shown that the language of music as the language of art in general terms is the most powerful way to unite peoples and cultures.
In her recording “Siete Modos de Guisar las Berenjenas” (Seven Ways to Cook eggplant) she grouped together songs from a wide variety of origins and their only common factor is their beauty. Nostalgic Sephardic melodies taken from Greece live comfortably alongside new songs by Juan Pablo Silvestre and traditional Spanish songs from the plains and Andalusia.
Discography:
Recuerdo y profecia por España (1977)
El calendario del Pueblo (2 volumes 1977 and 1978)
Canciones de boda (1979)
Canciones de amor y de trabajo (1980)
La última dama (1981)
Siemprevivas (1992)
Mirandote (1993 and 1998)
A Maria Teresa Vera (1995)
La sal de la vida (Nubenegra, 1997)
Siete modos de guisar las berenjenas (Nubenegra, 1998)
Abrecaminos (2006)
Amor a Cuba (RTVE, 2008)
Abrazo-abraso (Maria Salgado, 2011)
La ultima dama (Warner Music Spain, 2012)
El paso de loes vientos (Maria Salgado, 2014)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
updated discography