Flamenco Singer Diego el Cigala to Perform at Stern Auditorium, 5/8

On Friday, May 8 at 8:00 p.m., in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall presents three-time Grammy Award-winning singer Diego el Cigala, who brings his signature blend of flamenco, bolero, and Argentine tango, creating a one-of-a-kind musical experience. His recent exploration of the Argentine tango was the subject of his 2013 Latin Grammy Award-winning album Romance de la luna Tucumana and will be the focus of this concert.

Diego el Cigala has captivated audiences all over the world with his fiery vocals and passionate interpretation of flamenco. His various collaborations with world-renowned Latin American artists have earned him a reputation for seamlessly fusing the rhythms and melodies of his Spanish Gitano heritage. His rise to international fame came in 2003 after the release of Lágrimas Negras, his collaboration with the esteemed Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés. The album won a Latin Grammy Award and The New York Times named it one of the best albums of the year in 2003, hailing it "one of the great new cross-pollinating documents of Latin music."

Diego el Cigala is one of the most exciting and innovative flamenco singers in the world today. Passionate, profound, and immensely proud of his Spanish gypsy heritage, El Cigala has been called "the Sinatra of flamenco." He is a rare crossover artist who has also stayed true to his musical heritage while achieving name recognition with mainstream audiences around the world.

Born into a family of flamenco musicians, El Cigala began his solo career in 1997. Four years later, his release, Corren Tiempos de Alegri?a, was nominated for Best Flamenco recording at the Latin Grammy Awards. An initial collaboration on that disc between El Cigala and legendary Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés led in 2003 to a duo recording, Lágrimas Negras (Black Tears), that was hailed as one of the most astonishing breakthroughs in the realm of world music. Aside from earning El Cigala his first of three Latin Grammy Awards, Lágrimas Negras became a huge global hit, selling more than a million copies worldwide, thanks to a combination of killer live shows, rave reviews, and ecstatic word of mouth. Aside from winning numerous awards, the CD was praised by Britain's BBC Radio and named a "record of the year" by The New York Times.

El Cigala won his second Latin Grammy Award in 2006 for Picasso en mis ojos (Picasso in my eyes), which also became a bestseller. In 2010, El Cigala traveled to Argentina, land of the tango, to immerse himself in that country's powerful musical traditions. After merging his own band with two of Argentina's tango masters-bandoneonist Néstor Marconi and guitarist Juanjo Domínguez-the recording Cigala & Tango won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Tango and went on to earn critical and commercial success and a sold-out tour that played to more than 160,000 fans. El Cigala's newest recording and the focus of his upcoming tours of the US, Europe, Australia, and South America, 2013's Romance de la luna Tucumana, offers a fresh take on the Argentinean tango tradition. Notable for the contributions of Mexico's famed electric guitarist Diego García-known as "El Twanguero" for his embrace of cowboy, Hawaiian, and surf music-Tucumana earned El Cigala a third Grammy Award, his second for Best Tango.