Maria Elizabeth Del Ray – The Face Behind Diversity and Cultural Celebration

The familiar face behind ChildGood Magazine, the journal for creative families, is none other than the Cuban refugee and Latin Grammy award-winning Maria Elizabeth Del Ray. Apart from ChildGood, Maria is also known for establishing Studio Mirey, responsible for producing LatinX-themed television, films, and bilingual music that is relevant and socially empowering for children. Studio Mirey creates mixed media, stop-motion fabric art films, and socially conscious music for children from toddlers to teens.

Music creates a bridge between barriers set by cultural differences; as the saying goes, “divided by culture, united by music.”  It guides individuals from different heritage to interact with others’ lives through interpretations of sound, broadening one’s perspective to think with open-mindedness and compassion; this acts as the most important tool for understanding the difference in cultures across generations. With advancing technology, music is foreseen as a fundamental element of culture that keeps the tradition alive, encompassing others to get a better understanding of a society and its customs. Sharing music from one culture to another gives people an insight into another way of life. This is even more crucial during times of conflict when other methods of interaction are extracted. It has features that have the power to make us more empathetic and understanding of one another, to share the joy and sadness, the hope and frustration, the celebrations and sufferings of humanity across time and place.

Born on July 13th, 1959, in Havana, Cuba, Maria has outstood her role of celebrating cultures and diversity by making explicit contributions to the media industry. She was raised in Miami Beach, Florida, giving her immense exposure to diverse cultures. She graduated from Miami Beach Senior High and was keen on playing cello with the Miami Philharmonic and the Detroit Civic Orchestra. Her profound interest in music compelled her to attend the University of Miami School of Music, and the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied business entertainment.

Maria’s supremacy in her domain has led her to launch 50-plus family titles internationally, including music albums, live multimedia performing arts tours, educational books, and music products in multiple languages in the global family media market, parenting magazines, and online parenting seminars. She has also worked with Fortune 100 companies on advertising projects aimed at the international bilingual market. Del Ray’s craze to promote tradition has driven her to release several award-winning music products, educational books, and videos in various languages in the international family educational market. She is also the recipient of the following awards for her contribution to the entertainment industry:

  • Latin Grammy Award, Nomination, Best Children’s Recording in The Americas
  • The Miami Herald, The Order of the Silver Knight
  • Pennsylvania Commission for Women, Hispanic Role Model
  • YWYCA Radical Justice Award, Voices Role Model Book
  • Parents’ Choice, Gold Award, Lullabies of Latin America
  • Parents; Choice, Silver Honor, Universe of Song
  • Ben Franklin Award-Publishing Marketers, Family Circus
  • NAPPA Gold Award, Lullabies of Latin America
  • Rotary International, Living Treasure Award Ojai, CA
  • Parents’ Choice Silver Award, The Peanut Man
  • Carnegie Centennial Award, Harlem Residency Program
  • Parents’ Council Selection, Lyric Language
  • Women’s Millennial Peace Conference United Nations Geneva, Switzerland Delegate Performer representing the Children of the Americas

Maria’s excellency in representing a diverse collection of cultures has led her to earn several awards, including a nomination as a Producer for a Latin Grammy and Gold, Silver, and Honorable Awards from Parents’ Choice on four occasions, the Carnegie Centennial-New York Public Library Grant Award, and a Gold Award from National Parenting Publications. Maria was the first woman producer to be nominated in the children’s album category at the first Annual Latin Grammy Award in 2000 for the best Children’s recording in the America.

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