María Salgado was born in Toro (Zamora - Spain). Since the beginning of her career she worked from within the sources and roots of the most pure popular music.  Agapito Marazuela, the big master of Castilian & Lioner folklore, Agapito Marazuela, revealed to her in Segovia the most authentic traditional interpretation. As a result of his teaching, María made a great record which was pioneer for its time, with songs from the Cancionero de Castilla which had been rescued by Marazuela long time before. In Canciones de amor y trabajo, María Salgado elaborated old melodies and introduced the most modern musical instruments. Despite the use of modern instruments, these vigorous old songs did not loose any of its personality.

Joaquin Díaz, her other preceptor taught her the importance of knowing and loving the most immediate past and with him she learnt to read it from a different perspective, more human and wise. She participated and collaborated with Joaquin in numerous records, as for example El Calendario de Pueblo. This is a work that was compiled in a number of volumes along with folklorists such as Raices, Candeal, Joaquin Gonzalez or Angel Carril.

These circumstances help us to understand better the richness of Maria's musical development. 10 records in solitary, and any number of collaborations and works in groups, give evidence of it. She is always concerned about innovation, but starting from an in-depth investigation of everything. Since there are not supports as essentials as poetry, María has sung poems by Luis López Alvarez (Her version of the Romance Reina Juana seems different in every performance), or from Luís Díaz Viana, from which she has two monographic records Recuerdo y Profecía por España (a record with lorquianas resonances that was regular at the radio program El Loco de la Colina by Jesús Quintero), and La última dama. María has also paid tribute to the Cuban composer María Teresa Vera in collaboration with Martirio, Omara Portuondo and Pablo Guerrero. 

Texts full of poetry, great sensitivity in her performances, diversity in her repertoire...these have been some of the ingredients that have helped her to carve out a prestige and coherent musical career. María has demonstrated with her record Mirándote, that there are also inland "habaneras" as beautiful and mysterious as the ones form the Mediterráneo. She has also been able to demonstrate through her work with the Sudanese Rasha and the Galician Uxia, in La sal de la vida, that the language of music, as it occurs with art in general, it is the most powerful way to bring together cultures and people. This can also be said form Siete modos de guisar berenjenas , a notable record were nostalgic Sephardim melodies, gathered in Greek, coexist with new songs composed by Juan Pablo Silvestre.

En Abrecaminos , her last record by now, María Salgado has come to her Castilian origins in order to mix them with oriental rhythms, new Sephardim compositions as Memoria del Agua, or Tiempo, with lyrics by Dulce María Loynaz. A splendid record, of delicate and elegant musical accompaniment, recorded with placidity in the Spanish region, El Bierzo. 

But María Salgado leaves the biggest surprise to her performances and recitals. She sings little jewels that go along the soft slopes of the "guajiras,"  "peteneras," "fados" y "boleros" , without forgetting her own origins, and artistic inheritance. If the voice had been considered a musical instrument, María salgado´s interpretations would have changed the perception that the music and songs form Castilla has from the outside.