Arcángel

Francisco José Arcángel Ramos, was born in Huelva in 1977. He made his debut at an early age. In 1987, he won first prize in La Peña La Orden at Huelva's children's talent contest for fandangos, a triumph that he repeated again over the next two years of the competition.

The following year he was picked up by Niño de Pura and his brother, the dancer José Joaquín, with whom he developed until he attracted the attention of other figures, such as Jesús Cayuela and José Roca for shows like "La Parrala" (1996); Mario Maya, for "Los flamencos cantan y bailan a Lorca" (1997); and Manuel Soler, for the production of "Por aquí te quiero ver" (1998). However, ARCÁNGEL was discovered during the 1998 El Monte season and, above all, the 10th Bienal de Sevilla, where he received the most glowing public and critical acclaim thanks to his appearances in shows like "De Cádiz a Cuba" by Mario Maya; "Abanaó" by Juan Carlos Romero; "Seis movimientos de baile flamenco" by Pepa Montes and Ricardo Miño; José Joaquín's "Sansueña", as well as "Compadres" by Manolo Franco and Niño de Pura.

After that, ARCÁNGEL continued to sing for dance artists such as Javier Barón and La Hierbabuena, and in the Inventario de Henry Bengoa, by Pepe Gamboa, a success which was confirmed in Cus-Cus Flamenco (2001), together with Segundo Falcón and the Chekkara Orchestra of Tetuan, and later in Israel Galván's "Galvánicas" (2002).

But even if his cante is included on "Sólo Compás" (1998), on the anthology "Historia Antológica del Fandango de Huelva" (1999) and on "Territorio flamenco" (2003), it was only after his opera prima, "Arcángel", was released in 2001, that his time as a solo artist came. At this point he won the awards Premio Andalucía Joven 2002 and the Premio Nacional Flamenco Activo in Úbeda. Not only this but his performance on the Palenque, in the Bienal of 2002, merited the Giraldillo award for best cante singer, and just days later, he was awarded the Venencia Flamenca from Los Palacios, besides having been awarded a great number of prizes since age 10.

But his contribution to "Cantes Antiguos", by Mauricio Sotelo, which opened in Amsterdam (2003), his success in the 8th Peña El Taranto trophy and the fact that he was named "Huelva's Person of the Year" was already an omen for what 2004 would bring. Alongside writer and guitarist Juan Carlos Romero, he appeared with a hatful of unusual and wonderful ideas from "La Calle Perdía", his second solo work which spilled out notable gems with the genuine pleasure of the strictest good taste and most profound melodic sensitivity.

Between 2003 and 2004 Arcángel he is invited to the Nimes Festival, the Flamenco Festival USA, and the London Festival, where he receives great public and professional acclaim. In those years, he continues to collaborate with maestro Mauricio Sotelo at the Dutch National Opera, where he performs as a solo singer with the Opera orchestra, achieving a full house for a month, also with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra, singing "Si después de morir" by writer José Ángel Valente, to Mauricio Sotelo's music. He appears on many stages, including Maggio Musicale Florentino, and several concerts with the Artemis Quartet at the Berlin Philharmonie, at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional; and with the Diotima Quartet in Paris, Porto, Valencia... a long tour of classical music circuits which have given Arcángel a different artistic dimension when going on stage.

In 2004, 2005 and 2006, Arcángel was the flamenco artist with most performances in Spain, participating in the best Spanish festivals

In 2007 his last album -"ROPAVIEJA"- was released, dazzling professionals and public alike and becoming a reference record.

Arcángel is currently immersed in the presentation of his show ZAMBRA 5.1,where the young cantaor pays tribute to distinguished singer Manolo Caracol, with a full house everywhere the show is staged.