María Terremoto, Santiago Lara

María Terremoto feels flamenco as something innate. And no wonder. As a very young girl she listened at home to the echoes of the most important artists from Jerez, who used to spend sleepless nights sharing their experiences with her father Fernando. She has been accumulating, in her head and in her retina, those streams of wisdom that came to her every night, and now the time has come for her to give them her own form, without forgetting everything that has preceded her.

Since she was a child, she participated in many flamenco zambombas with her family. At the age of 9, she was asked by her father, Fernando Terremoto, to take to the stage of the flamenco peña that bears his name. That day marked a transcendental moment in her artistic career: Fernando passed the artistic baton to her daughter in what would be his definitive farewell to the stages.

In mid-2014, at the age of just 14, she began to make sporadic appearances in the peñas jerezanas, and from there she went on to take her singing to other parts of the flamenco scene. In 2015 she toured with the bailaor El Carpeta, from the Farrucos family, already standing out as a soloist within the group of cantaores.

Her big breakthrough came in 2016, during the Festival de Jerez, where she gave a recital that generated unprecedented critical acclaim for an artist of her age. This performance was the starting point for a season in which she performed in a multitude of flamenco peñas and major festivals.

In 2016 another turning point took place: María participated as a guest artist in the ‘Música para la investigación’ Gala, starring the cantaor Miguel Poveda at the Teatro Liceo in Barcelona and broadcasted by ‘Televisión Española’, where her performance impressed all flamenco fans.

Her definitive breakthrough as a cantaora came at the Flamenco Biennale 2016 in Seville, where she won the Giraldillo Revelación, being the youngest artist in history to win it. The following year she was awarded again as the Best Emerging Artist at the prestigious Venencia Flamenca. After receiving these awards, María became one of the great exponents of the flamenco scene, which led her to release her first album in September 2018, entitled La huella de mi sentío, with which she toured Spain, Europe and the United States.

After a successful tour, in which she performed on the most important stages of the flamenco scene, she received the Cruzcampo Award for the best performance at the Festival La Isla Ciudad Flamenca, the Ciudad de Jerez Young Award 2019 and the New Creators Award 2019 from Secretariado Gitano.

She is currently touring the most important national and international festivals as a leading figure, in places such as Mont de Marsan, Nimes, New York or Miami, all this combined with the creation of what will be her second studio album, with which she hopes to reach a wider audience maintaining the tradition and purity of cante jondo.

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.