Teresa Adelina Sellarés, best known as Teresa Parodi, (born December 30, 1947) is an Argentine singer and songwriter. She held the inaugural post of

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

of Argentina from May 6, 2014, to December 9, 2015. She was a deputy to the

Mercosur Parliament The Mercosur Parliament ( es, link=no, Parlamento del Mercosur, pt, Parlamento do Mercosul), known also as Parlasur, or Parlasul, is the parliamentary institution of the Mercosur trade bloc. It is composed of 81 MPs, 18 from each member states ...

(Parlasur) representing the nationwide district of Argentina from December 10, 2015, to October 6, 2016. She was elected on the

Front for Victory The Front for Victory ( es, Frente para la Victoria, FPV) was a centre-left Peronist electoral alliance in Argentina, and is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner we ...

ticket in the 2015 election.

Life and career

Born Teresa Adelina Sellarés in

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...

, she was introduced to music when studying singing and taking guitar lessons at the age of nine. Her grandmother hosted frequent music festivals in her farm along the Paraná River, and there she learned the

Chamamé Chamamé ( Guarani for: party, disorder) is a folk music genre from Northeast Argentina and Argentinian Mesopotamia. In 2020, Chamamé was inscribed in UNESCO's Intangible cultural heritage list after it was nominated by Argentina in 2018. C ...

(a danceable genre of Argentine folk music) as well as Zambas, Chacareras, Huaynos, Cuecas, and other popular South American folk music genres. She later performed in numerous local festivals in her youth. She married Guillermo Parodi, a systems analyst, in 1967, and they had five children. Both politically active in the left-leaning

Peronist Youth Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...

, her husband was briefly detained during the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

that took power in 1976; he lost his job in Corrientes as a result, and in 1979 the couple relocated to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Teresa Parodi started her solo career at this time, performing at small venues in Buenos Aires, and in 1979 was brought on as guest vocalist for

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

's ''

Nuevo tango Nuevo tango is both a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional tango music, and an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s. Dance Origins Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was taught with a didact ...

'' quintet. Her 1980 debut album, ''Teresa Parodi desde Corrientes'', was followed in 1983 by ''Canto a los hombres del pan duro'' ('A Song for Poor Men'), adding music to the work of prominent poets such as

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

and Jorge Calvetti. Parodi was awarded the Consecration Award at the 1984 Cosquín National Folk Festival, and later performed as soloist in a number of notable events, including a 1986 concert with Cuban songwriter Pablo Milanés at Luna Park Stadium and in a 1988 tour of the U.S. and Europe. Parodi was voted Best Composer of the Decade in 1995, receiving a Platinum

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...

to the effect, and in 1999 received the Gold Camín Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cosquín National Folk Festival. She was named Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires in 2006. Parodi went to compose approximately 500 songs in 30 albums and has been a constant presence at the thousand folk festivals across Argentina as well as in San Diego, Houston, Washington, New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Santiago de Compostela, Paris, Brussels, Cuba, Mexico City, Chiapas, Monterrey, Antwerp, Zurich, Barcelona,

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the ''comarca'' of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and ...

, Stockholm, Amsterdam, São Paulo, Berlin, Seville, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Saragossa, Quito, and Asunción. Following a decision to promote the Culture Secretariat to a cabinet-level ministry, on May 7, 2014, President

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President o ...

nominated Parodi as the nation's first

Awards and recognition

* 1984: Consecration Award, Festival Nacional de Folclore de Cosquín. * 1994: Best Album (female singers) ''Con el alma en vilo'', Asociación de Cronistas del Espectáculo (ACE). * 1995: Platinum Konex Award, Best Songwriter/Composer of the Decade. * 1996: 'Estrella de Mar' Award, Mar del Plata. * 1999: Gold Camín Lifetime Achievement Award, Festival Nacional de Folclore de Cosquín. * 1999: Fondo Nacional de las Artes Award. * 2004: Carlos Gardel Award. Best Álbum Folclore Female Artist * 2011: Premio Nacional de la Artes 2011 song: ''Aún caminan conmigo''.

Discography

* 1983: ''Canto a los hombres del pan duro'', LP * 1985: ''El purajheí de Teresa Parodi'', LP * 1986: ''Mba-e pa reicó, chamigo!'', LP * 1987: ''Teresa'', LP * 1988: ''Letra y música'', LP * 1988: ''El otro país'', LP * 1989: ''Otras cosas'', LP * 1990: ''Ya está la taba en el aire'', LP * 1991: ''De amores, sombras y transparencias'', LP * 1991: ''11 de Latijns Amerika Festival'', LP * 1992: ''Pasiones'', LP * 1993: ''Correntinas'', LP * 1994: ''Con el alma en vilo'', LP * 1995: ''Correntinas II'', LP * 1996: ''Parte de mí'', LP * 1997: ''Como dicho al pasar'', LP * 1998: ''Señales de vida'', LP * 2001: ''El canto que no cesa'', LP * 2003: ''Soy feliz'', LP * 2005: ''Pequeñas revoluciones'', LP * 2007: ''Autobiografía'', LP * 2009: ''Corazón de pájaro''. * 2011: ''Otro cantar''.

References

External links

teresaparodi.com
(Official website)
Ministry of Culture of Argentina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parodi, Teresa 1947 births Living people People from Corrientes Argentine guitarists Argentine women singer-songwriters Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires Ministers of Culture of Argentina Argentine singer-songwriters Women government ministers of Argentina 20th-century Argentine women singers 20th-century guitarists 20th-century women guitarists 21st-century Argentine women singers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century women guitarists 21st-century Argentine politicians 21st-century Argentine women politicians