Fresno singer/actress Merlinda Espinosa, with a ‘heart like none other,’ dies at age 38

The sudden death of local artist Merlinda Valentina Espinosa-Torres has shaken the music, theatrical and arts community in the Central Valley.

Espinosa-Torres died unexpectedly on June 17 at age 38.

A GoFundMe account has been created to honor Espinosa-Torres’ legacy, and to support her family with funeral and medical expenses.

“I was blessed to call Merlinda my best friend for the past 24 years,” said Diana Hernandez on social media. Hernandez created GoFundMe after people asked how they could help Merlinda’s family.

“With great sadness and broken heart, I shared Melinda Espinosa lost her life yesterday unexpectedly,” wrote Gloria Gonzales on June 18 on Facebook’s public group Fans of Merlinda Espinosa.

Gonzales, a longtime family friend, said “Merlinda was loved and well known in Fresno and throughout the Central Valley. She had a voice of an Angel and mesmerized many with her angelic voice and will be missed greatly.”

Espinosa has been singing and performing since she was a young child.

Born and raised in Fresno, she performed with her unique style in both English and Spanish. She graduated from Roosevelt School of the Arts. Her range of music included Mexican traditional, rancheras, Nuevo Canto of Latin America, country, R&B, ballads and jazz.

An artist at a young age

Espinosa-Torres started studying music with Agustín Lira, who cofounded El Teatro Campesino with Luis Valdez at a very young age. Lira was also an artist of the Smithsonian Folways.

“She came to us in a program by the California Arts Council and she started studying guitar and voice with Agustín at the age of 11. That’s who taught her how to sing,” said Patricia Wells Solórzano, codirector of Teatro de la Tierra, a non-profit arts organization.

“She was very studious. She was very disciplined, thanks to her mother,” said Wells Solórzano.

Espinosa-Torres, who performed theater from 1999 to 2019, went on theatrical and musical tours with Wells Solórzano and Lira throughout California.

“We did about 12 productions during those years, and she played lead roles. She was an excellent actress,” said Wells Solórzano, adding that Espinosa-Torres won a statewide talent competition in Los Angeles when she was in high school.

“We had big plans. She was going to join us again in Teatro de la Tierra,” Wells Solórzano said. “She was going to be teaching the classes, she was also going to record with us, and if this all hadn’t happened, she was going to be teaching canto (singing) and teatro (theater).”

“She was to me like the daughter I didn’t have. And I loved her very much, and I will always remember her,” Wells Solórzano said.

A community in mourning

Nate Butler, host of “The Local Show Fresno” on The Mighty 90.7 KFSR, which airs every Sunday from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., posted on Facebook that the June 23 show would be play several songs written and recorded by Merlinda in honor of her memory.

“I know this loss spreads wide. Her heart is like none other, and it is a beautiful thing that such amazing love will live in all of us,” Hernandez wrote on Facebook.

A mass will be at 9 a.m. July 11 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Selma. Viewing and a rosary will be held starting at 4 p.m. on July 10 at Page Funeral Chapel in Selma.

“She was a wonderful role model. She went above and beyond the work that we would ask her to do. She was disciplined and professional and a very loving, very sweet person,” Wells Solórzano said.

“Rest in musical heaven Merlinda Espinosa. A beautiful voice and a beautiful person to match. Rumba 32 is honored to preserve your powerful and stylish voice on our CD,” wrote Steve Alcala. “Your friends and the musical community grieve with your family. You have forever left your legacy in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.”