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.
Rocio
Maria Dolores Pradera Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Una fuente en medio con un surtidor
Rosas y claveles de tos los colores
Que no lo soñara mejor ni un pintor
Junto a la cancela de hierro forjado
Hay una mocita de tez bronceá'
Y juntito a ella, moreno y plantao
La luna rosa de plata
El patio baña'o de luz
Muy cerquita de su novia
Dijo el mocito andaluz
Rocío, ay, mi Rocío
Manojito de claveles
Capullito floreci'o
De pensar en tus querere' voy a perder el senti'o
Porque te quiero mi vida
Como nadie te ha querido
Rocío, ay, mi Rocío
Ahora es otro el patio
Salpica'o de rosas
Patio de la monjas de la cari'ad
Donde hasta la fuente llora silenciosa
La canción amarga de su soledad
Regando las flore' hay una monjita
Que como ellas tiene carita de flor
Y que se parece a aquella mocita
Que tras la cancela le hablaban de amor
La luna rosa de plata
El patio baña'o de luz
Mas ya no suena la copla de aquel mocito andaluz
Rocío, ay, mi Rocío
Manojito de claveles
Capullito floreci'o
De pensar en tus querere' voy a perder el senti'o
Porque te quiero mi vida
Como nadie te ha querido
Rocío, ay, mi Rocío
The song Rocio by María Dolores Pradera describes two different scenarios in which a young couple meets in Seville. The first scenario is a beautiful courtyard, filled with colorful flowers and a fountain in the center. The singer describes a young couple, a mozo (young man) and mocita (young girl), who are standing near the wrought-iron gate. The man is enchanted by her and speaks to her passionately. The moon illuminates the courtyard, adding to the romantic atmosphere. The young man confesses his love for her and calls her Rocío, or dew in English. He speaks of his deep affection for her and how he may lose his senses due to his intense love for her.
The second scenario is a completely different setting, one that is melancholic and lonely. The courtyard is now the property of the nuns of charity, and the singer describes a young girl who resembles the one from the previous scene. However, she is now a nun, watering the flowers and looking pensive, as if she's remembering the past. The young couple from the previous scene is no longer there, and the courtyard is now silent. However, the lyrics continue to describe the deep love that the young man from the previous scene had for his beloved Rocío, and how he will never forget her.
Overall, the song depicts the different stages of love, from the passionate beginning to the painful memory of a lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
De Sevilla, un patio salpica'o de flores
A beautiful courtyard full of vibrant flowers in Sevilla
Una fuente en medio con un surtidor
A fountain placed in the center with a water spout
Rosas y claveles de tos los colores
All colors of roses and carnations
Que no lo soñara mejor ni un pintor
A place so picturesque that even the best painter couldn't imagine it better
Junto a la cancela de hierro forjado
Next to the wrought iron gate
Hay una mocita de tez bronceá'
A beautiful tanned girl standing nearby
Y juntito a ella, moreno y plantao
A handsome and confident young man stands next to her
Un mozo encendi'o que hablándole está
Talking and flirting with her
La luna rosa de plata
The beautiful silver pink moon illuminates the scene
El patio baña'o de luz
The courtyard is bathed in moonlight
Muy cerquita de su novia
Very close to his girlfriend
Dijo el mocito andaluz
Said the Andalusian boy
Rocío, ay, mi Rocío
Rocío, oh my Rocío
Manojito de claveles
A bunch of carnations
Capullito floreci'o
A budding little flower
De pensar en tus querere' voy a perder el senti'o
Thinking of my love for you is making my heart skip a beat
Porque te quiero mi vida
Because I love you, my life
Como nadie te ha querido
As no one has ever loved you
Ahora es otro el patio
Now the courtyard is different
Salpica'o de rosas
Full of roses
Patio de la monjas de la cari'ad
The courtyard of the caring nuns
Donde hasta la fuente llora silenciosa
Where even the fountain is silently crying
La canción amarga de su soledad
Mournful song of loneliness echoes through the courtyard
Regando las flore' hay una monjita
A nun is watering the flowers
Que como ellas tiene carita de flor
Her face is so innocent and beautiful like a flower
Y que se parece a aquella mocita
And she looks like that beautiful girl from before
Que tras la cancela le hablaban de amor
Who was being wooed by the boy from behind the gate
Mas ya no suena la copla de aquel mocito andaluz
But the song of the Andalusian boy is no longer heard
Contributed by Jayce G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rocio Gutierrez
Que hermosa canción, nunca la había escuchado, y me gusta mucho las canciones de esta gran señora, el violín de becho, también hermosa cancion
Chateau Leon
¿Alguien sabe dónde está Rocio? Es un pueblo? ¿O se trata solo del rocío de la mañana? Maria Dolores es como mi madre musical: Aprendí un poco español por canciones de Maria Dolores. Incredible bella!
Rossiel Raffo
INCREÍBLEMENTE BELLA. SU FINURA, SU DELICADEZA... ES LA GRAN DAMA DE LA CANCIÓN. DERROCHE DE ELEGANCIA.