Santiago Lara, Leslie Cartaya & Adolfo Herrera
Santiago Lara is currently respected as one of the most important names in the new generation of Spanish guitarists. From Jerez de la Frontera, with only 34 years, has received some of the most prestigious guitar awards including the recent Giraldillo al Toque de la Bienal de Arte Flamenco de Sevilla 2018 , el Premio al toque de la Bienal de flamenco de Sevilla año 2000 y el Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba 2013. He holds a Professional Music Degree from the “Joaquín Villatoro” Conservatory in Jerez de la Frontera.
Santiago, producer, composer and musical director, has in the market 4 albums as soloist: El Sendero de lo imposible (2008), Sentimientos Nuevos (2012), Flamenco Tribute to Pat Metheny (2017) and the recent La Guitarra en el tiempo (2019). From a young age he made several world tours accompanying the maestro Manolo Sanlúcar as well as his recordings and tours with symphony orchestra, in works such as Locura de Brisa y Trino and Medea.
He has collaborated with artists such as Ainhoa Arteta, Antonio Canales, Estrella Morente Jorge Pardo, Carmen Linares, David de Maria, Ismael Jordi, Chicuelo, Marina Heredia, Manuel Lombo, Antonio Serrano, among other greats. As a soloist he has performed prestigious concerts at the Festival de Jerez, Bienal de Sevilla, Guitar Festival of Córdoba, Flamenco Festival of Mont de Marsan (France), Tampere Flamenco Festival (Finland), Flamenco Biennial of Querétaro (Mexico) , Bimhuis in Amsterdam, Music House (Moscow), Emabajada in Berlin, Flamenco Festival London, Flamenco Festival in Poznan (Poland), Guitar Festival Hersbruck (Germany), Kölner Filarmonie (Koln, Germany) etc. He is a regular collaborator in world tours with dancer and choreographer Mercedes Ruiz, for whom he has composed the music of his nine shows, winning important prizes such as the Critics’ Prize at the Festival de Jerez on several occasions.
Together they have toured throughout the world, in places as prestigious as the Alcázar Theater (Madrid), Queen Elizabeth Theater (London), Sadller Wells (London), Theater de la Ville (Paris), Maison de la Danse (Lyon), Ewerk (Berlin), International Music House (Moscow), La Fenicce Theater (Venice), Luciano Pavarotti Comunale Theater (Modena), Parco della Música Auditorium (Rome), St Lowrence Center for the Arts in Toronto (Canada) and many more. As a record producer, in addition to his own albums, he has made records of important flamenco cantaores in Spain of the new generation as Luna de Enero by Miguel Soto, Londro, Mi Retoque al cante jerezano by David Lagos, and With the voice on earth by David Carpio.
Santiago Lara, serious and dedicated artist, is characterized by a constant development of his own language, recognizable in his touch. In the same way, he stands out for always offering passion in his shows, obtaining the best response from the audience where his music and guitar are called to sound. He is currently immersed in the promotion and concerts of his current album La Guitarra en el Tiempo, as well as the tour of his latest production, Tauromagia, choreography for the work of Manolo Sanlúcar, together with bailaora Mercedes Ruiz, premiered at the last Bienal de Sevilla with a resounding success of critics and audiences, and where they plan to perform in such important places as the Festival de Jerez, the Guitar Festival of Córdoba and the Flamenco Art Festival of Mont de Marsans and more.
During the month of April 2019 he is invited by The University of New Mexico to give music and guitar master classes in Albuquerque. In May of 2019 he toured the US giving master classes and giving concerts, along with Mercedes Ruiz in cities such as Portland, Seattle and Washington DC. He is currently director of the International Festival of the Flamenco Guitar of Jerez, of which he is also creator and promoter.
Leslie Cartaya was born in Cuba, to a very close family that enjoys warm afternoons improvising a melody. Traditional Cuban music runs in her veins and jazz and American funk have shaped her artistic personality. She decided to begin her solo career with her first record production “No Pares.”
Singing is Leslie’s best therapy. She learned, from an early age, to clearly express her feelings, joys, passions, sadness, and even melancholic moments through music. Leslie admits to having discovered traditional Cuban and Brazilian music as she reminisces about her family, in particular, her cousins. They were the first to teach her nursery rhymes and accompany her on the guitar while she sang.
Caribbean, Afro-American, Afro-Latin, and Latin American musical rhythms create a harmonious fusion in “No Pares,” a 19-track production. 18 of them are written and composed by Leslie. The official CD Release concert of “No Pares” took place at the Miami Dade County Auditorium on April 18, 2019. It was part of Miami on Stage, a series of concerts sponsored by Fundarte. With the release of “No Pares,” Leslie went up to the fifth position on the Miami Latin Reverbnation Charts. She also got nominated for the Latin Grammy 2013 as Best New Artist.
Adolfo Herrera (Caracas, 1975) studied with the great Andrés Briceño. He has participated in over 70 commercial albums as drummer and/or percussionist and among them 5 have resulted in Latin Grammy nominations. Musician, drummer, musical director and producer, he has a Degree in Social Communication from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He studied at the Berklee College of Music from 2002 to 2004. He is based in Miami. Adolfo is the drummer of the Miami Symphony Orchestra and plays for De La Paz Ensemble where he uses a hybrid set (drumset and percussion timbres). He is part of RJO (Raices Jazz Orchestra led by Tony Succar and Pablo Gil), has recently released a PBS special “ROOTS of Latin Jazz”, and he has also worked as percussionist for the Siudy Flamenco Dance Theater. He is a Latin Percussionist and Yamaha artist and uses Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals. Throughout his career he has worked with Jose Luis Rodríguez “El Puma”, Franco De Vita, Aquiles Báez, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Lena Burke, Otmaro Ruiz, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, South Florida Symphony, Leo Blanco, Antonio Canales, Farruquito, Anita Loynaz, Rafael “El Pollo” Brito, Karina, Kiara, Guillermo Carrasco, and Frank Quintero, among others.
Leslie Cartaya was born in Cuba, to a very close family that enjoys warm afternoons improvising a melody. Traditional Cuban music runs in her veins and jazz and American funk have shaped her artistic personality. She decided to begin her solo career with her first record production “No Pares.”
Singing is Leslie’s best therapy. She learned, from an early age, to clearly express her feelings, joys, passions, sadness, and even melancholic moments through music. Leslie admits to having discovered traditional Cuban and Brazilian music as she reminisces about her family, in particular, her cousins. They were the first to teach her nursery rhymes and accompany her on the guitar while she sang.
Caribbean, Afro-American, Afro-Latin, and Latin American musical rhythms create a harmonious fusion in “No Pares,” a 19-track production. 18 of them are written and composed by Leslie. The official CD Release concert of “No Pares” took place at the Miami Dade County Auditorium on April 18, 2019. It was part of Miami on Stage, a series of concerts sponsored by Fundarte. With the release of “No Pares,” Leslie went up to the fifth position on the Miami Latin Reverbnation Charts. She also got nominated for the Latin Grammy 2013 as Best New Artist.
Adolfo Herrera (Caracas, 1975) studied with the great Andrés Briceño. He has participated in over 70 commercial albums as drummer and/or percussionist and among them 5 have resulted in Latin Grammy nominations. Musician, drummer, musical director and producer, he has a Degree in Social Communication from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He studied at the Berklee College of Music from 2002 to 2004. He is based in Miami. Adolfo is the drummer of the Miami Symphony Orchestra and plays for De La Paz Ensemble where he uses a hybrid set (drumset and percussion timbres). He is part of RJO (Raices Jazz Orchestra led by Tony Succar and Pablo Gil), has recently released a PBS special “ROOTS of Latin Jazz”, and he has also worked as percussionist for the Siudy Flamenco Dance Theater. He is a Latin Percussionist and Yamaha artist and uses Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals. Throughout his career he has worked with Jose Luis Rodríguez “El Puma”, Franco De Vita, Aquiles Báez, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Lena Burke, Otmaro Ruiz, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, South Florida Symphony, Leo Blanco, Antonio Canales, Farruquito, Anita Loynaz, Rafael “El Pollo” Brito, Karina, Kiara, Guillermo Carrasco, and Frank Quintero, among others.