María Elena Walsh was born in Buenos Aires in 1930. She was a poet, novelist, singer, songwriter, and scriptwriter for theater, film, and television. Alongside a significant body of work for children, for which she is globally recognized, she developed a substantial body of work for adults consisting of songs, novels, journalistic articles, radio columns, movies, and TV shows. A kind of cultural provocateur, she always criticized aspects of the world around her; among others, the role that patriarchal culture assigns to women and men. She was already a crucial figure in feminism when in 1976 Cancionero contra el mal de ojo, a compilation of her incisive and successful songs for adults, was released, preceded by Juguemos en el mundo (1970). Novios de antaño (1990) was her first novel for the adult audience, followed by the unclassifiable Fantasmas en el parque (2008) and several compilations of articles. She received numerous awards: the Municipal Poetry Award, the Argentores, the Gran Premio Sadaic, and the Highly Commended from the Hans Christian Andersen Award by the IBBY, among many others. Distinguished Citizen of Buenos Aires (1985) and honorary doctorate from the National University of Córdoba (2010), María Elena Walsh is a key figure in Argentine culture. She died in Buenos Aires in 2011.
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