Bárbara Martínez is an Argentine-Venezuelan flamenco singer based in New York City.
Club Bonafide
Friday, December 6, 2019 ~ Martínez plays Club Bonafide in Midtown East, NYC at 8pm. $20
World Music Institute Benefit
Thursday, November 7, 2019 ~ Bárbara Martínez and Arturo Martínez sing Spanish and Latin American flamenco to benefit the World Music Institute at Clara Aich Studio (a photographer’s studio) in Kips Bay, NYC at 6:30pm. $75
Bárbara Martínez
Bárbara comes from a family of artists including Argentine tango singers/actresses Morenita Rey and Libertad Lamarque, and Venezuelan sculptor Rafael Martínez and Amelia Arenas.
Martínez has been around New York City for a long time. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera as a child. Her flamenco group performed at Carnegie Hall.
Flamenco is American too
Being an American, Martínez understands rumba flamenca in her bones.
“Pure” Spanish flamenco is already a blend of Romani, Muslim, Jewish, African and Spanish influences.
The conquistadors brought flamenco with them from their home port of Cádiz in Andalucía, Spain.
The Spanish treasure galleons brought the sounds and rhythms of Havana, Cuba back to Spain. This is rumba flamenca. These are the cantes de ida y vuelta (roundtrip songs).
This is Bárbara’s world. She blends South American, Middle Eastern and Sephardic music with jazz. She even sings bossa nova in Brazilian Portuguese.
This is who we are as New Yorkers. We use the old labels Venezuelan, Argentine, Spanish, whatever; but once you live in New York City, you are not really that any more. You are a New Yorker.
Bárbara Martínez is an embodiment of New York City. She mixes the blends together in a really beautiful way.