Biography
María Elena Walsh was an Argentine poet, novelist, musician, playwright, writer, and composer, best known for her children's songs and books. Her creations include some of the most beloved children's literature and music in Argentina.
She was born in Villa Sarmiento, Ramos Mejía, Greater Buenos Aires, to a railway worker of English and Irish heritage who played the piano, and a mother of Spanish descent. Growing up in a large home, she developed a deep love for reading and music within a culturally rich environment. At 15, Walsh had several poems published in the magazine El Hogar and the newspaper La Nación. In 1947, before finishing art school, she released her first book, Otoño Imperdonable, a poetry collection that received critical acclaim and recognition from prominent Latin American authors.
After graduating in 1948, she traveled to North America at the invitation of poet Juan Ramón Jiménez, then to Europe during the Peronist era, eventually settling in Paris for four years in the early 1950s. While in Paris, she performed Argentine folk music concerts with fellow Argentine singer Leda Valladares, forming the duo "Leda & María" and recording for Le Chant du Monde.
Walsh returned to Argentina in 1956 following the Revolución Libertadora. From 1958 onward, she wrote numerous television scripts, plays, poems, books, and songs, primarily aimed at young children. She also enjoyed success as a performer, singing her own compositions on stage and recording albums such as Canciones para mirar, Canciones para mí, and El País de Nomeacuerdo. Juguemos en el mundo, another album, was a satirical show for adults that was adapted into a film of the same name. Although the film's story differed from the original stage production and song collection, it featured her characters Doña Disparate y Bambuco and was directed by her partner at the time, María Herminia Avellaneda (1933–1997).
