Palmenia Pizarro | ms

Palmenia del Carmen Pizarro González (San Felipe, Chile, 19 de julio de 1941), known as Palmenia Pizarro, is a Chilean singer. She's been an active singer since 1961.

She was born in San Felipe, Valparaíso Region, in the village of El Almendral. She discovered her interest in music in her early years. Her parents and her music teacher aimed her to start a difficult, longstanding career since she was 7 years old. At age 11, Palmenia moved to Santiago of Chile to have a try as a singer. At age 16, her talent is appreciated by some radio stations and she received an award as Mejor Intérprete Folclórica (Best Folk Singer). Her participation in the radio contest Así Canta Perú ("Perú sings this way") in 1962 marked her first record deal with EMI.

In 1963, songs like Mi Pobreza and Amarga Experiencia achieved spectacular sales. Her shows were a blockbuster, achieving both recognition of Chilean critics and audiences. However, it was her song Cariño Malo, composed by the Peruvian musician Augusto Polo Campos, who marked her consecration. However, a series of events, exacerbated by some journalists and presenters of Chilean television (including Don Francisco), forced her to settle in Mexico, where after a performance on the Televisa's show Siempre en Domingo ("Always on Sunday") and with the support of the prominent singer Chavela Vargas, she achieved a successful career in that country. Subsequently, she got many recognitions who allowed her to start a successful international career, which led her to perform in countries such as Australia, USA, Argentina and Japan (where he met Atahualpa Yupanqui); in the latter, she recorded two songs in Japanese.

In 1997, she returned to Chile where she won major awards and honors both from the world of culture, and her public such as the 1992 Ciudadana Distinguida en Chile ("Distinguished Citizen of Chile"). In 1999 and 2000 she received the Best Performer award from the Asociación de Periodistas de Espectáculos ("Association of Entertainment Journalists"), Apes, and in 2001 she was awarded with the newly created Premio Nacional de Música Chilena Presidente de la República ("National Music Award from the Chilean President of the Republic"). In the same year, Palmenia Pizarro debuted at the Festival of Viña del Mar, where the audience gave the biggest awards, the statuettes Gaviota de Plata and Gaviota de Oro (Seagull of Silver and Gold) and the newspaper La Cuarta ("The Fourth One") gave her a "Miss Simpathy" award.

In 2002, she celebrated forty years of career with a performance in her native San Felipe, with songs like Recuerdos de mi pueblo, dedicated to her childhood neighbourhood, El Almendral. Futhermore, a Song Festival held in San Felipe was renamed Festival de la Canción Palmenia Pizarro de San Felipe ("Palmenia Pizarro's Song Festival of San Felipe"). She was also appointed as Hija Ilustre y Embajadora Cutural de la Siempre Heróica Ciudad de San Felipe de Aconcagua ("Illustrious Child and Cutural Ambassador of the Always Heroic City of San Felipe de Aconcagua") and the neighbour city of Los Andes named her Andina Destacada (Outstanding Andean) for her prolific career. In 2007, she joined the TV Channel Canal 13's show, Cantando por un sueño ("Singing for a dream") as a teacher of a couple of contestans formed by Carolina Vargas and Lizardo Garrido. .