Maria Dolores Pradera

María Dolores Pradera was a Spanish singer and actress, who became one of the most famous voices in Spain and Latin America. She was born in Madrid in 1924, and started her career as an actress in the 1940s, appearing in films such as La Lola se va a los puertos, La blanca paloma, and La Tirana. She also performed in theater, working with directors such as José Tamayo and Luis Escobar. In the 1950s, she began to sing professionally, and soon abandoned her career as an actress to focus on music. She recorded more than 35 discs, and specialized in traditional Spanish and Latin American music, such as bolero, copla, ranchera, folk, and ballad. She sang with a deep and resonant contralto voice, and a pure Castilian pronunciation. She was accompanied by guitars, requintos, and drums, and for almost 30 years, she sang with the same group, Los Gemelos, formed by twin brothers Santiago and Julián López Hernández. Some of her most popular songs were La flor de la canela, El rosario, Fina estampa, Amarraditos, and Caballo viejo. She also collaborated with other singers, such as Joaquín Sabina, Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel, and Joan Manuel Serrat. She received several awards and honors for her artistic career, such as the Gold Medal of Merit in Labour, the Gold Medal of Fine Arts, and the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise. She died in Madrid in 2018, at the age of 93, leaving behind a legacy of hundreds of songs and a loyal fan base.