tiempo de jugar que es el mejor.
Por favor, me lo da suelto y no enjaulado
adentro de un despertador."note
y a la mano con puñal
porque me mató tan mal
y seguí cantando
Cantando al sol como la cigarra,
después de un año bajo la tierra,
igual que sobreviviente
que vuelve de la guerra."note
María Elena Walsh (February 1, 1930—January 10, 2011) was a renowned Argentinian singer, songwriter, composer, poet, and novelist. Her career had an early start with the award-winning with the poetry collection Otoño Imperdonable ("Unforgivable Fall") at the age of seventeen.
She was known as a cultural hero and Living Legend until her passing away in 2011, especially for her songs and books for children, like La Tortuga Manuelita (Manuelita the Turtle), La Reina Batata (the sweet potato queen), La Marcha De Osias (The March Of Osías), or Dailan Kifki. Almost every child born in Argentina and Latin America since she started writing and singing holds her in a very dear place in their heart.
Although María Helena was primarily known for her children's songs, she also wrote several widely known masterpieces for adults too. The best example is the song "Como La Cigarra", which was sung almost as a political and cultural hymn by several popular musicians as Mercedes Sosa
, León Gieco, and Pedro Aznar. Another famous song of hers is Carta De Un León a Otro (Letter from a Lion to Another), played famously by the Rosarian jongleur Juan Carlos Baglietto, among others.
She was openly lesbian, and dated artists like Leda Valladares and Sara Facio. However, this wasn't a hindrance to her career,
Books for adults
- Otoño imperdonable (1947) - edited by Walsh at 17
- Apenas Viaje (poems) (1948)
- Baladas con Angel (poems) (1951)
- Casi Milagro (poems) (1958)
- Hecho a Mano (poems) (1965)
- Jugemos en el mundo (poems) (1971)
- Cancionero contra el Mal de Ojo (poems) (1976)
- Los Poemas (1982)
- Novios de Antaño (novel) (1990)
- Desventuras en el País-Jardín-de-Infantes (1993) (*)
- Fantasmas en el Parque (2008)
Books for children
- La Mona Jacinta (1960)
- La Familia Polillal (1960)
- Tutú Marambá (1960)
- Circo de Bichos (1961)
- Tres Morrongos (1961)
- El Reino del Revés (poems and songs) (1965)
- Zoo Loco (1965)
- Cuentopos de Gulubú (1966)
- Dailán Kifki (novel) (1966)
- Versos para Cebollitas (1966)
- Versos Folklóricos para Cebollitas (1967)
- Aire Libre (school book) (1967)
- Versos Tradicionales para Cebollitas (1967)
- El Diablo Inglés (short stories) (1970)
- Angelito (1974)
- El País de la Geometría (1974)
- Chaucha y Palito (short stories) (1977)
- Veo Veo (1984)
- Bisa Vuela (1985)
- Los Glegos (1987)
- La Nube Traicionera (1989)
Tropes present in Walsh's work
- Animal Goes to School: Her song "La Vaca Estudiosa" (the studious cow) follows an old cow that decides to go to school. The teacher at first thought the cow had made a mistake, the children (her classmates) laughed and threw chalk at her, and people from outside the school came to watch her, arriving in trucks, bicycles, and planes, creating such chaos that she was the only one that actually studied and learned anything.
- Banned in China: Her song "Como la cigarra". Its lyrics led to its prohibition during the last four years of the National Reorganization Process. Mercedes Sosa, who was forbidden to include it in her record "Serenata para la tierra de uno" ("Serenade for one's homeland"), got away with featuring it in the Mexican edition.
