María Dolores Fernández Pradera, María Dolores Pradera (born August 29, 192… Read Full Bio ↴María Dolores Fernández Pradera, María Dolores Pradera (born August 29, 1924 in Madrid) is a Spanish melodic singer and actress, and one of the most prestigious voices in Spain and Latin America. She's also known as "María Dolores" or "La Pradera".

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.

La Flor de la Canela
Maria Dolores Pradera Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Déjame, que te cuente, limeño
Déjame que te diga la gloria
Del ensueño, que evoca la memoria
Del viejo puente del río, y la alameda

Déjame que te cuente, limeño
Ahora que aun perdura el recuerdo
Ahora que aun se mece en un sueño

El viejo puente del río y la alameda

Jazmines en el pelo y rosas en la cara
Airosa caminaba la flor de la canela
Derramaba lisura y a su paso dejaba
Aromas de mistura que en el pecho llevaba

Del puente a la alameda, menudo pie la lleva por la vereda
Que se estremece al ritmo de sus caderas
Recogía la risa de la brisa del río
Y al viento la lanzaba del puente a la alameda

Déjame que te cuente, limeño
Ay deja que te diga, moreno, mi sentimiento
A ver si así despiertas del sueño
Del sueño que entretiene, moreno, tu pensamiento

Aspiras de la lisura que da la flor de canela
Adórnala con jazmines, matizando su hermosura
Alfombra de nuevo el punte y engalana la alameda
Que el río acompañara tus pasos por la vereda

Y recuerda que

Jazmines en el pelo y rosas en la cara
Airosa caminaba la flor de la canela
Derramaba lisura y a su paso dejaba
Aromas de mistura que en el pecho llevaba

Del puente a la alameda, menudo pie la lleva por la vereda
Que se estremece al ritmo de sus caderas

Recogía la risa de la brisa del río
Y al viento la lanzaba del puente a la alameda

Overall Meaning

The song "La Flor de la Canela" by Maria Dolores Pradera is a beautiful ode to the city of Lima, Peru. The song tells a story of a woman who walks from the old bridge to the alameda. She is adorned with jasmine flowers in her hair and roses on her face, and as she walks, she exudes a fragrance that lingers in the air. The woman’s beauty is described in detail, and it is suggested that she is representative of the beauty and life of the city itself.

The lyrics are addressed to a "limeño," a native of Lima, and tell him to listen to the story of the woman and the beauty of the city that she represents. The lyrics are passionate, and the music is filled with a sense of longing and nostalgia. The song’s melody is upbeat, yet melancholy, and it captures the essence of the city of Lima and its people.

Overall, Maria Dolores Pradera's song "La Flor de la Canela" is a beautiful tribute to Lima, Peru, and the woman who represents its beauty and passion. The song's lyrics are filled with vivid descriptions of the city, and the melody captures the essence of its people and their love for their home.

Line by Line Meaning

Déjame, que te cuente, limeño
Let me tell you, limeño

Déjame que te diga la gloria
Let me tell you the glory

Del ensueño, que evoca la memoria
Of the dream that evokes memory

Del viejo puente del río, y la alameda
Of the old bridge over the river and the alameda

Déjame que te cuente, limeño
Let me tell you, limeño

Ahora que aun perdura el recuerdo
Now that the memory still lingers

Ahora que aun se mece en un sueño
Now that it still sways in a dream

El viejo puente del río y la alameda
The old bridge over the river and the alameda

Jazmines en el pelo y rosas en la cara
Jasmines in her hair and roses on her face

Airosa caminaba la flor de la canela
Gracefully walked the flower of cinnamon

Derramaba lisura y a su paso dejaba
Poured smoothness and left behind

Aromas de mistura que en el pecho llevaba
Aromas of mixture that she carried in her chest

Del puente a la alameda, menudo pie la lleva por la vereda
From the bridge to the alameda, her delicate foot takes her on the path

Que se estremece al ritmo de sus caderas
That trembles to the rhythm of her hips

Recogía la risa de la brisa del río
She gathered the laughter from the breeze of the river

Y al viento la lanzaba del puente a la alameda
And threw it to the wind from the bridge to the alameda

Déjame que te cuente, limeño
Let me tell you, limeño

Ay deja que te diga, moreno, mi sentimiento
Oh, let me tell you, moreno, my feeling

A ver si así despiertas del sueño
So that you wake up from the dream

Del sueño que entretiene, moreno, tu pensamiento
The dream that entertains, moreno, your thoughts

Aspiras de la lisura que da la flor de canela
You inhale the smoothness given by the cinnamon flower

Adórnala con jazmines, matizando su hermosura
Decorate it with jasmines, enhancing its beauty

Alfombra de nuevo el punte y engalana la alameda
Roll out the carpet on the bridge and adorn the alameda

Que el río acompañara tus pasos por la vereda
So that the river accompanies your steps on the path