María Mérida

María Mérida Pérez was born in Valverde, El Hierro, on 5 June 1925. She died in Candelaria, Tenerife, on 4 January 2022. A singer linked to Canarian folklore, she was known as “the lady of Canarian song”.

From an early age she developed a stage career centred on Canarian songbook repertoires. She moved to Madrid, performed songs by Néstor Álamo and took her repertoire to stages in Italy, the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Her figure highlights the role of women’s voices in preserving, renewing and emotionally transmitting Canarian folklore, with a memory especially linked to El Hierro.