Folk Bands and Artists
La Chinganera
Santiago de Chile
Fabiola González Valderrama, aka La Chinganera, folk singer-songwriter, ‘payadora’ of traditional Chilean music, studied music education at Concepción University in Chile and then art education in Veracruz University in Mexico. Her extensive work with popular poetry, poetic song, ‘cueca’ song and dance, folk guitar-playing have led to her spreading the art of Chilean folklore and culture to the majority of Hispanic Latin America, by performing concerts, giving seminars and master classes. In 2010 the town of Penco awarded her a prize for her contribution to Culture and the following year she won a national prize for her ‘tonada’ singing in Talca. She has published three albums of original songs (the latest being ‘Hija natural’) and two ‘décima’ poetry books that have been widely translated and published around the world. La Chinganera has acted as jury member at a number of competitions and folk festivals such as the National competition of improvised ‘décimas’, improvised ‘cuecas’, set verse, Folk Festival of Olmué, the Margot Loyola prize competition, the Music Fund and Pulsar Awards. She has collaborated as researcher, musician and poet in a wide range of educational projects, music, theatre and television.
Genre: Folk revival
