Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (Balearic Catalan: ; born 1947 in Palma, Majorca) is a Spanish singer from the island of Majorca. Early life and career Bonet studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually decided to dedicate herself to music. She arrived in Barcelona in 1967, where she began to sing with the group Els Setze Jutges. She has published many folk music albums in Catalan, in spite of the ban on the Catalan language and its music during Francisco Franco's dictatorship. She has performed throughout China as well as in Japan, the former USSR, Tunisia, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Brazil, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico, and the United States. Recording career In 1981, Bonet recorded Jardí Tancat in Paris, along with accompaniment by Jacques Denjean and noted Breton harpist Alan Stivell. She has worked with the Ensemble of Music Traditionelle di Tunis and Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento. She earned the French Charles Cross Academy Prize and the Catalan Creu de Sant Jordi and the National Prize awarded by the Catalan government. In 1984, the French Government gave her the Charles Cross Academy Award for the best foreign record released in France. That same year Bonet was awarded the Cross of Saint George, the highest distinction of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan Government). In 1985, as a result of her interest and research into North African music, she recorded Anells d’aigua (Rings of Water) with the Ensemble de Musique Traditionelle of Tunisia, and then toured with the group throughout France and Spain. In 1998 she toured abroad and collaborated with other well-known Spanish artists such as Amancio Prada, Loquillo, Jordi Sabatés and Rosa Vergés. In 2001, Bonet recorded a Jackson Browne tribute album, Sing My Songs. The album was recorded live in July 2001 in the Gothic district of Barcelona. The album won the 2002 Spanish World Music Awards. Discography Maria del Mar Bonet (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1970 Maria del Mar Bonet (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1971 Maria del Mar Bonet (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1974 A l'Olympia (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1975 Cançons de festa (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1976 Alenar (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1977 Saba de terrer (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1979 Quico-Maria del Mar (Maria del Mar Bonet + Francesc Pi de la Serra) 1979 Sempre (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981 L'àguila negra (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981 Jardí tancat