María Martha Serra Lima (December 19, 1944 – November 2, 2017) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

canción melódica Canción melódica (; Spanish for "melodic song"), also known as canción ligera ("light song") is a genre of Spanish-language popular music typically defined by sentimental ballads with light, orchestral arrangements. It grew out of traditional f ...

singer.

Life and work

Born in Buenos Aires to a family of

auto dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive mainten ...

proprietors, Serra Lima was first signed on to a record label in 1977, and became famous across Latin America and in Spain during the 1970s and 1980s. Known for her contralto vocal texture and her repertoire of love ballads and

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

s, she collaborated extensively with singer-songwriters from elsewhere in Latin America, particularly Mexican standards such as Los Panchos and Armando Manzanero; among her best-known, non-Hispanic interpretations is that of Paul Anka's '' My Way''. Her albums became hits in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile,

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, Venezuela, and elsewhere in the region, apart from her home country. She shared the stage with numerous major international singers, done multiple international tours and won many awards through her career as a singer. Serra Lima sold in excess of 10 million albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Discography

*''María Martha Serra Lima'' (1978) *''Personal'' (1979) *''Entre nosotros'' (1980) *''Estilo'' (1982) *''Sentir'' (1983) *''Esencia romántica 2'' (1984) *''Plenamente'' (1985) *''El viaje'' (1986) *''¡10 años contigo!'' (1987) *''Matices'' (1989) *''Mis boleros'' (1989) *''Quién soy'' (1990) *''Lo mejor de mí'' (1991) *''Como nunca'' (1993) *''Símbolo de amor'' (1994) *''Cosas de la vida'' (1995) *''Para estar contigo'' (1996) *''Esencia romántica 3'' (1998) *''Baladas de amor'' (2001) *''Intensa'' (2004) *''Con el alma'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serra Lima, Maria Martha 1944 births 2017 deaths Singers from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Spanish descent Argentine contraltos 21st-century Argentine women singers