Verónica Valerio (born 1981) is a Mexican harpist, singer and composer. She first performed when she was 19, singing
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 with the Juventud Sonera band in her native
Puerto de Veracruz. She went on to study
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
in
before attending the
Boys & Girls Harbor conservatory in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. In 2006 she performed at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
and appeared in the documentary ''Arpa Viajera'' produced by
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. She then returned to Mexico but has since appeared in Asia, the Americas and Europe and has made numerous recordings. In 2021, she collaborated with the American singer and composer
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...
.
Biography
Born in Veracruz in 1981, Verónica Valerio was brought up in a family in which both her father and her uncle were harpists. She embarked on her professional career in her home town when she was 19, singing boleros with the Afro-Caribbean band Juventud Sonera. She then spent a year in New Orleans with musicians specializing in blues before moving to New York where she attended the Boys and Girls Harbor music conservatory.
[ She showed interest in a variety of genres, including ]gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
, salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
and cumbia
Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include:
...
, all of which contributed to her development as an experimental composer.[ She adapted her song-writing to poetic renderings of topics of contemporary social interest while evoking the sea, the coast, loneliness and contrasts between town and country.][
In 2006, she appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall and as the star of the documentary film ''Arpa Viajera'' produced by the Anthropology Department of New York University.][
In August 2017, she appeared in Mexico City's ]Teatro de la Ciudad
The (Theater of the City) was built as the (Esperanza Iris Theatre) in 1918 and is now one of Mexico City’s public venues for cultural events. The theater is located in the historic center of Mexico City on Donceles Street 36.
The former Espe ...
together with Sofía Rei from Argentina and Lucía Pulido Lucía Pulido (born 1962) is a Colombian singer who since 1986 has sung traditional music such as cumbia, bullerengue and joropos. In 1994, she moved to New York, where she has performed traditional music and has sung with jazz musicians. She perfor ...
from Colombia in the Latin-American music show ''3 voces, 3 mujeres, 3 vanguardias''.[ She has also performed in Asia, Europe and elsewhere in Latin America and has made many recordings.][
]
Discography
* ''Viajes de Ida y Vueltaa'' (2013)
* ''Canciones de Puertos'' (2015)
* ''Van Dyke Parks orchestrates Verónica Valerio: Only in America'' (2021)
References
External links
Verónica Valerio's discography from Deezer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerio, Veronica
1991 births
Living people
People from Veracruz (city)
Mexican harpists
Women harpists
Mexican singers
Mexican women singers
Mexican composers
Mexican women composers
Musicians from Veracruz