Fieldwork Archive
El saludo
Performed by Doña Teresita Alonso.
Recorded December 12, 2025 in Barrio San Felipe, León, Nicaragua (acquisition date: December 12, 2025).
Fragment. Learned from her mother. Ms. Alonso, 96 years of age.
Recorded by Claudio Alexander Urbina on behalf of Derek Piotr.
Having been the soloist in a number of choirs dedicated to singing Marian hymns for church services and celebrations, Doña Teresita Alonso became known as the golden voice of songs for the Purísima (Immaculate Conception) and Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Our Lady of Mercy) celebrations in León, Nicaragua.
She first learned these hymns from her mother, who would take her to church services. Ms. Alonso became a member of her parish choir at the age of eight.
She recounts how her soprano voice used to resound in cathedrals without the use of a microphone.
Now at 96 years of age, the high notes have become more strenuous for her to reach, but she has nonetheless agreed to sing a fragment of this song.
Composed by Francisco Mateo Vargas Ulloa, "El saludo" is a petición, a through-composed form of Marian hymn. Ms. Alonso has been featured in a number of recordings of this song: one in 1974 under the musical direction of Professor José Higinio Flores Silva, another with accordion accompaniment, and one with the Coro Centenario in 2012.
con toda alegría, con toda emoción.
Tu eres la esperanza
del pobre mortal que ansía,
que ansía tu amor.
with all joy, with all emotion.
You are the hope
of the poor mortal who longs,
who longs for your love.
Variants
1407 · El saludo1696 · El saludo