I
Mari Trini

About:

12 july 1947 - 7 April 2009

Mari Trinidad Pérez de Miravete Mille was born in Caravaca de la Cruz in the province Murcia but moved to Madrid with her family at a very young age. During her youth she attended a religious school but, due to a severe illness, she hardly attended school between her 7th and 14th birthday. After recovering she learned to play the guitar and started composing her first songs. At the age of 15 she met film director Nicholas Ray, known from the movie ‘Rebel without a cause’. Ray pursueded her to come to London to prepare for a role in a movie. The movie was never made but Trini stayed in London to study and participate in the radioshows of Peter Ustinov.

Later on she moved to Paris where she signed her first record contract and recorded in French. After five years in France she got homesick and returned to Spain to pursue a musical career there. The recorded her first Spanish songs in the RCA studio but also some compositions from her own hand. The debut did virtually nothing. The follow up album ‘Amores’ was a different story and gave her her first success. The third album ‘Escúchame’ meant her definite breakthrough and contained several hits. Trini stays popular even after the fall of the Franco regime and the new musical wind of the Movida. In the nineties she decides to take it more easy. Her last record dates from 2001 after which she began having contractual problems as well as health problems. In 2005 a compilation and a dvd gained new interest in Trini and she was honoured with a diamond record for exceeding sales of over 10 million records.

Mari Trini passed away at a hospital in Murcia, Spain on April 7 at the age of 61. The cause of death has not yet been published, but it is said that she died of lung cancer. With Trini's passing on, one of Spain's best and most famous female singer-songwriters died.

On the web:

- http://usuarios.lycos.es/xosemi/mari_trini.html

If you like this, you probably like... / european counterparts

Haris Alexiou (Greece)

Maurane (Belgium)

What do we think:

DB: Spains true and maybe only chansonniere. One of the few (female) artists who was able to persue a personal, folky style in the Franco period. It is sad to see that once the Franco regime is over Mari isn't able to reap the musical harvest she has sown. During the eighties she delivered only mediocre albums. Although still strongly imbedded in Spains musical history she doesn't get the credits she deserves. Her former record company Hispavox hardly has released her old albums on cd. Shame and a waste of some great Spanish songwriting. Her albums can easily be found on vinyl though.

PR: XXXXX

Recommendations:

♪♪ - Al Principo - 1969
♪♪♪ - Amores - 1970
♪♪♪ - Escúchame - 1971
♪♪♪♪- Ventanas - 1973
♪♪♪♪♪ - ¿Quién? - 1974
♪♪♪ - El tiempo y yo - 1977
♪♪♪ - Solo para tí - 1978
♪♪- A mi aire - 1979
♪♪ - Oraciones de amor - 1981
♪♪ - Una estrella en mi jardín - 1982
♪♪ - En vivo - 1985
♪ - Espejismos - 1990
Alas de cristal - 1996
Mari Trini con los Panchos - 2001

Further listening: L'automne - 1973; Canta en francés - 1975 ; Transparencias - 1975; Como el rocío - 1976 ; Mari Trini - 1984
Diario de una mujer - 1984 ; Quién me venderá - 1986 ; En tu piel - 1987 ; Sus grandes éxitos - 1993 ; Sin barreras - 1995

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided