María Elena Walsh (born on February 1, 1930 in Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires - died on January 10, 2011 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine musician and writer known for her songs and books for children. At 15 years of age, Walsh had some of her poems published in the "El Hogar" magazine and La Nación newspaper. Two years later, she wrote her first book of poems; Otoño Imperdonable ("Unforgivable autumn"). In 1948, she started travelling, first to the United States and in 1952 to Europe, staying in Paris for 4 years, giving Argentine folklore concerts with Leda Valladares. Back in Argentina, she wrote TV scripts, plays, and songs for children that have been sung by generations of Argentine children. Her books and songs, like "Como la cigarra" ("Like the cicada") often have strong political connotations, as have even some of her work for children, such as "El Reino del Revés" ("The Kingdom of Upside-Down"), and "El País del Nomeacuerdo" ("The Country of Idontremember"). "El País del Nomeacuerdo" was used as the main song of the Academy Award winning Argentine political-film The Official Story. She was 80 when she died in Buenos Aires on January 10, 2011, after a prolonged battle with bone cancer. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.