Mariana Montalvo studied guitar at the Conservatorio Nacional de Santiago, Chile. Like many of her compatriots from Chile, Montalvo was forced into a life of exile in 1974, living in France since the coup that brought the military regime of Augusto Pinochet to power. Her connections to her roots has remained steadfast, however, and Montalvo provides fresh interpretations of the traditional music of Chile. With influences from the nueva cancion tradition of sophisticated and powerful music based on folkloric song forms, Montalvo’s music descends from the work of legendary Latin American singers such as Victor Jara, Violeta Para and Mercedes Sosa.
For many years she was a member of the popular group Los Machucambos, which is famed throughout Europe for their faithful interpretations of South American traditional music.
Montalvo’s original compositions featured instantly accessible melodies and unique instrumentation such as the South American charango (a type of guitar), quena (pan-pipes), and the trombone, which reflected the influence of Andean brass bands on Montalvo’s arrangements.
Mariana Montalvo died on July 28, 2017.
Discography:
Mariana Montalvo canta a Jodorowsky (1997)
Cantos del alma (Putumayo World Music, 2000)
Piel de aceituna (World Village, 2003)
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.
