Margarita La Diosa de la Cumbia

Singer Margarita, whose full name is María de Santa Teresita Gaviria, acquired the title “The Goddess of Cumbia” through her central influence on Colombian cumbia’s transformation into a commercially dominant style in Mexico. Born in Medellín in 1960, she began performing at private gatherings and local venues while still a teenager, then resolved to pursue music professionally. Following initial ballad recordings and radio-television jingles, she issued several singles and full-length projects for Discos Fuentes. In 1986 producer Víctor Nanni recruited her for La Sonora Dinamita, already established across Colombia and Mexico; she joined first as a guest vocalist, later secured the lead role, and relocated permanently to Mexico. After six years with the ensemble she chose independence and launched her own outfit, La Sonora de Margarita.

Her solo career opened with the 1991 album Bailable y Tropical, after which she has issued more than two dozen studio and compilation sets spanning cumbias, boleros, vallenatos, and occasional pop material. Beginning with that debut, the journal Furia Musical named her Best Interpreter of Tropical Music for eight straight years, and she later collected four Premios Oye!. In 1996 Mis Cinco Sentimientos reached the top of Mexican radio playlists and Latin album charts. Further releases such as Oye, La Cumbia del Aida, La Suita, and La Cortina each earned gold or platinum certification in Mexico.

Commemorating twenty-five years in the profession, the 2005 audio-video package Margarita Sinfónica presented her leading her band alongside the State Symphony Orchestra of Puebla through cumbias, boleros, and mariachis, with featured duets alongside La Banda el Recodo, Bacilos, and El Grupo Pesado. Two years later she took part in the major television showcases Cantando por un Sueño and Los Reyes de la Canción, sharing stages with established figures including Jose Jose, Maria Conchita Alonso, Ricardo Montaner, and Yuri. The 2008 album Tentaciones introduced the nuevo cumbia single “Colegiala,” recorded with the band Calo; that same year she appeared in twelve episodes of the telenovela Fuego en la Sangre and contributed to Las Mujeres de Manzanero at the personal invitation of composer and singer Armando Manzanero.

The 2009 platinum-certified Me Quedo Contigo, considered her most dance-oriented collection, paired her with Aleks Syntek on the single “Si Superias.” Marking her thirtieth anniversary in 2010, the concert package 30 Años de Cumbia attained double-gold and platinum sales figures. La Musa, released in 2012, brought her a fourth Oye! Award in the category Mejor Solista de Música Latina; later that year she followed with Por Fin...Boleros!. The Colombian government conferred the Grado de Caballero upon her in recognition of her work promoting the nation’s folk traditions and cultural identity overseas. Her first appearance at the Gibson Theater in Los Angeles came in 2013 and yielded the roots-oriented Desde Mis Raices. In 2015 she issued the studio album Sin Fronteras, anchored by the single “Te Di Todo,” and published the autobiography El Lugar Donde Habitan Tus Sueños. Near the close of 2016 the pre-release track “El Cable,” featuring Ab Quintanilla, registered on multiple streaming and digital charts.