Gloria del Paraguay

Her repertoire also includes folklore from Paraguay and Latin America.

• Name — Gloria del Paraguay • Origin — Paraguay • Birth Name — Gloria Criscione Pineda • Genre — Opera / Folkloric Paraguayan Music / Folkloric Latin American Music • Occupation — Soprano, writer • Website — www.gloriadelparaguay.com

Gloria Criscione Pineda is daughter of an Italian father and a Spanish mother; she was born in Paraguay. She started her studies at the age of 5 years old. She attended the School of Fine Arts where she began studying declamation and dance. At the age of eleven she became a student of the famous teacher Aurelia Camihor Lofrucio. At the age of twelve she sang as a soloist of the Symphonic Orchestra and the Paraguayan Athenaeum Choir. She was the lead singer of various zarzuelas or musical comedies and operettas, then starting her own opera company known as the "Compañia Paraguaya de Comedias Musicales". She has a Masters in Psychology and Social Sciences. She is an expert in Nutrition. She also studied Marketing and Journalism in Geneva.

For a long time, she dedicated herself to singing folkloric Paraguayan music as well as Latin American music. She compiled and rescued the African rhythms of Cambá Kuá – Paraguay. She went on long tours to Europe, Asia, the United States of America and Latin America. She has 33 recordings. Her first recording took place in Portugal. She was the first Latin American performer on 5 February 1995, to sing as a soloist in a concert at the Manhattan Center in New York City. She was the first singer to record the three most difficult minutes of the tenor of the Tosca Opera "E lucevan le stelle". In Spain, her performances on television and radio brought her recognition. She was presented with the "España de Oro" prize as the best Spanish language singer, and also won the "T” prize that stands for triumphant three consecutive times as the "Best Singer in Spanish Language". In Chile, she was part of the jury at the "Viña del Mar International Song Festival", as well as at the "OTI Festival". As a poet, Pineda was invited to the fourth Book Fair in Paris, and her poems are part of the compilation of Paraguayan poems of the PEN CLUB, that gives awards to the best hundred Paraguayan writers. She has five published books whose titles are "Cristal", "Cuarzo y Cristal", "Transmutaciòn y Silencio", "Clave y Recuerdos" and "Medicina Natural, su alternativa". She took some years off stage to organize a Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Technology "Gloria International Foundation". Now Gloria del Paraguay is back on stage, singing in concerts to raise money for her Foundation, which is one of the singer's priorities.