Mayte Martín

Mayte Martín (born in Barcelona, Spain, April 19, 1965). She is a Flamenco cantaora (singer), bolero singer, and composer. She is widely recognized as one of the most important flamenco voices of her generation. She has also devoted part of her career to other genres such as Spanish American music, especially bolero.

She started singing as a small child in her family environment, and at the age of 10 she won an amateur singing contest organized by a supermarket. After this, she started performing regularly as an amateur at the peñas flamencas in Barcelona and its outskirts, and became a professional at the age of 16. In the meantime, she acquired a solid knowledge of flamenco styles, mainly by listening intensively to recordings of flamenco cantaores like Juan Valderrama, Manolo Caracol, Camarón de la Isla, Lole Montoya and most of all, Pastora Pavón, also known as La Niña de los Peines. She also received some formal musical training, and practised her skills as a "cantaora de atrás" (singer for flamenco dance).

In 1987 she won the first prize or Lámpara Minera at the Concurso Nacional de La Unión (also known as Festival de las Minas). Two years later, she obtained the Antonio Chacón Prize (bestowed on the best malagueña at the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba). At the same time, she started an international career after being chosen by Peter Gabriel to perform at Womad Festivals. In 1994, she recorded her first album, Muy Frágil, with guitarist Chicuelo and arrangements by Joan Albert Amargós (the later a regular contributor to other well-known flamenco musicians like Paco de Lucía and Camarón de la Isla). In 2000 she published her second flamenco recording, 'Querencia', which was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award to the Best Flamenco Album in 2001.

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