Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (Balearic Catalan: ; born 1947 in

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

) is a Spanish singer from the island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

Early life and career

Bonet studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually decided to dedicate herself to music. She arrived in Barcelona in 1967, where she began to sing with the group

Els Setze Jutges Els Setze Jutges (, meaning "The Sixteen Judges") was a group of singers in the Catalan language founded in 1961 by Miquel Porter i Moix, Remei Margarit, and Josep Maria Espinàs. The name comes from a well known tongue-twister in the Catalan l ...

. She has published many folk music albums in Catalan, in spite of the ban on the Catalan language and its music during

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

's dictatorship. She has performed throughout China as well as in Japan, the former USSR, Tunisia, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Brazil, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico, and the United States.

Recording career

In 1981, Bonet recorded Jardí Tancat in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, along with accompaniment by Jacques Denjean and noted

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

ist

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a Breton people, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specif ...

. She has worked with the Ensemble of Music Traditionelle di Tunis and Brazilian musician

Milton Nascimento Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Nascimento has recorded 32 studio albums and has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music ...

. She earned the French Charles Cross Academy Prize and the Catalan

Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English language, English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Gold Medal of the G ...

and the National Prize awarded by the Catalan government. In 1984, the French Government gave her the Charles Cross Academy Award for the best foreign record released in France. That same year Bonet was awarded the Cross of Saint George, the highest distinction of the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

(the Catalan Government). In 1985, as a result of her interest and research into

North African music North Africa has contributed considerably to popular music, especially Egyptian classical music alongside el Gil, Algerian raï and Chaabi (internationally-known tubes such as "Ya Rayah"-Dahman El Harrachi or Aicha-Cheb Khaled). The broad regio ...

, she recorded ''Anells d’aigua'' (''Rings of Water'') with the

Ensemble de Musique Traditionelle of Tunisia Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (Kendji Girac album), 2015 * ''Ensemble'' (Ensemble album), 2006 * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre ...

, and then toured with the group throughout France and Spain. In 1998 she toured abroad and collaborated with other well-known Spanish artists such as

Amancio Prada Amancio may refer to: Places *Amancio, Cuba, a town in Las Tunas province People *Amancio Alcorta (1842–1902), Argentine legal theorist * Amancio Jacinto Alcorta (1805–1862), Argentine composer *Amancio Amaro (1939–2023), Spanish footballer ...

, Loquillo,

Jordi Sabatés Jordi Sabatés Navarro (Barcelona, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europ ...

and

Rosa Vergés Rosa Vergés Coma (born 22 February 1955) is a Spanish film and television director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Barcelona, the daughter of publisher and actress Silvia Morgan, Vergés studied art history at the University of Ba ...

. In 2001, Bonet recorded a

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

tribute album, ''Sing My Songs''. The album was recorded live in July 2001 in the Gothic district of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. The album won the 2002

Spanish World Music Awards Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Discography

*''Maria del Mar Bonet'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1970 *''Maria del Mar Bonet'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1971 *''Maria del Mar Bonet'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1974 *''A l'Olympia'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1975 *''Cançons de festa'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1976 *''Alenar'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1977 *''Saba de terrer'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1979 *''Quico-Maria del Mar'' (Maria del Mar Bonet +

Francesc Pi de la Serra Francesc () is a masculine given name of Catalan origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francesco, Francisco, François, and Franz. People with the name include: * Cesc Fàbregas (Francesc Fàbregas i Soler) (born 1987), Spanish professional footbal ...

) 1979 *''Sempre'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981 *''L'àguila negra'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981 *''Jardí tancat'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981 *''Breviari d'amor'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1982 *''Cançons de la nostra mediterrània'' (Maria del Mar Bonet + Al Tall) 1982 *''Anells d'aigua'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1985 *''Gavines i dragons'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1987 *''Ben a prop'' (Maria del Mar Bonet +

Manel Camp Manel may refer to: People * Manel (footballer, born 1971), Spanish football midfielder * Manel (footballer, born 1972), Spanish football midfielder * Manel (footballer, born 1973), Spanish football forward * Manel Abeysekera, Sri Lankan diplomat ...

) 1989 *''Bon viatge faci la cadernera'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1990 *''Coreografies'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1990 *''El·las'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1993 *''Salmaia'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1995 *''Primeres cançons'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1997 *''El cor del temps'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1997 *''Cavall de foc'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1999 *''Raixa'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2001 *''Cants d'Abelone'' (Maria del Mar Bonet + Rafael Subirachs) 2001 *''Collita pròpia'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2003 *''Amic, amat'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2004 *''Terra Secreta'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2007 *''Bellver'' (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2010 *''Blaus de l'ànima, més de 20 anys ben a prop'' (Maria del Mar Bonet + Manel Camp) 2011

Awards and accomplishments

* 1984:

de la Generalitat de Catalunya. * 1984: Premi de l'acadèmia al millor disc estranger editat a França. * 1990: Premi

Gabriel Alomar i Villalonga Gabriel Alomar i Villalonga (; 1873–1941) was a poet, essayist, educator and diplomat of the early twentieth century in Spain, closely related to the Catalan art movement Modernisme. He was an active leftist libertarian, chiefly in Barcelona a ...

dels Premis 31 de Desembre de l'

Obra Cultural Balear Obra or Obras may refer to: * Obra (river), a river in west Poland * Obra, Uttar Pradesh, a town in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India * Obra, Bihar, a town in Bihar, India ** Obra, Bihar Assembly constituency, Bihar * Obra, Uttar Pradesh As ...

. * 1992: Premi Nacional de Música de la

. * 2000:

Ramon Llull Award The Ramon Llull Award (; ) is an honor awarded annually by the to persons or entities of the Balearic Islands that have excelled in any field. It was established in 1997 by Decree 3/2014. Winners 1997 {{columns-list, colwidth=30em, * {{ill, Jo ...

from the government of the Balearic Islands * 2000: Premi a la Millor Cançó en Català de la IV Edición de los Premios de la Música. * 2001: Premi al Millor Àlbum de Música Tradicional-Folk per "Raixa" de la VI Edición de los Premios de la Música. * 2002: Millor Àlbum en Català per "Raixa" de la VI Edición de los Premios de la Música. * 2002: Premi Altaveu 2002. * 2002: Premi

Enderrock ''Enderrock'' is a monthly musical magazine published in Catalan, since 1993. It specializes in the promotion of pop-rock music in the Catalan language and around Catalan speaking areas. On 2004 it was awarded with a National Award for the soci ...

de la crítica al millor álbum Folk-Noves Músiques. * 2003: Premi

Luigi Tenco Luigi Tenco (21 March 1938 – 27 January 1967) was an Italian singer-songwriter. He died on the night of 27 January 1967 after a performance at the Sanremo Music Festival. His death was ruled to be the result of suicide, but even decades later, ...

2003, de Italia. * 2003: Premi de Música Ciutat de Barcelona per "Amic, Amat" * 2003: Medalla d'Or de la ciutat de

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. * 2008: Premio

Maria Carta Maria Carta (24 June 1934 – 22 September 1994) was a Sardinian folk music singer-songwriter. She also performed in film and theatre. In 1975 she wrote a book of poetry, ''Canto rituale'' (Ritual Song). Throughout her 25-year career she cove ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

References

External links

Songs and Complete Discography in CANCIONEROS.COM
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonet, Maria Del Mar 1947 births Living people People from Palma de Mallorca Singers from the Balearic Islands Spanish women singers Catalan-language singers