She started her career as an actress, working in the theatre and in some of the most famous Spanish movies from the 1940 decade.
During the 1950s, she started singing professionaly, eventually abandoning her career as an actress in the 1960s. Since then, she has recorded more than 35 albums.
As a singer, she is specialized in traditional Spanish and Latin American music: bolero, copla, ballad, ronda, vals, and folk music (Peruvian, Argentinian, Mexican, and Venezuelan). Her voice tone is clear and slightly low, and she has an extremely proper Spanish pronunciation. She typically sings with the only company of guitars, requintos, and drums.
She singed for close to 30 years with the same group, Los Gemelos, formed by two twin brothers, Santiago López Hernández and Julián López Hernández, until the death of Santiago in the early 1990s.
Fuego Lento
Maria Dolores Pradera Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
las campanas del olvido
A fuego mandan tocar
las campanas del olvido
Es imposible olvidar
lo que tanto se ha querido
¡Ay! Fuego lento
Como se va llevando
la arena el río
la arena el río
así se va llevando
tu amor el mío
tu amor el mío
¡Ay! Fuego lento
fuego de amor encendido
No es amor palabra escrita
en la arena de la playa
No es amor palabra escrita
en la arena de la playa
Es sentimiento escondido
en lo profundo del alma
¡Ay! Fuego lento
fuego de amor encendido
Como se va llevando
la arena el río
la arena el río
así se va llevando
tu amor el mío
tu amor el mío
¡Ay! Fuego lento
fuego de amor encendido
The lyrics of "Fuego Lento" by María Dolores Pradera describe the slow-burning fire of love that can never truly be extinguished. The first stanza speaks of how the bells of forgetfulness are rung, but no matter how hard one tries, it is impossible to forget something that was deeply loved. The following stanzas describe how love cannot simply be written in the sand like words that can be easily washed away. Love is a feeling that is buried deep within the soul and cannot be erased even with the passage of time.
The refrain of "Fuego Lento" amplifies the message of the song, saying that the fire of love burns slowly but surely, and once it's lit, it cannot be easily quenched. The metaphor of the river carrying away grains of sand represents how the passage of time may wear away at love, but it cannot fully eradicate it. Love is a force that continues to smolder, even long after it has been buried beneath the surface.
Overall, the lyrics of "Fuego Lento" speak to the power of love and its ability to endure despite the passage of time. It is a beautiful testament to the steadfastness of the human heart and the importance of holding onto the things that matter most.
Line by Line Meaning
fuego mandan tocar
They order to play the bells of oblivion with fire
las campanas del olvido
The bells of forgetting
Es imposible olvidar
It is impossible to forget
lo que tanto se ha querido
what has been loved so much
¡Ay! Fuego lento
Oh! Slow fire
fuego de amor encendido
fire of burning love
Como se va llevando
As the river carries
la arena el río
The sand the river
tu amor el mío
Your love mine
No es amor palabra escrita
Love is not a written word
en la arena de la playa
on the sand of the beach
Es sentimiento escondido
It is a hidden feeling
en lo profundo del alma
in the depths of the soul
Writer(s): Traditional, Daniel Belardinelli
Contributed by Addison J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.