Afro-Spanish Singer BUIKA Makes Philadelphia Debut At The Kimmel Center, Oct 26
OCTOBER 4, 2010
One Of NPR’s “50 Greatest Voices,” The Soulful Singer Stops in Philadelphia on the Heels of Receiving Two Latin Grammy Nominations and Releasing a Single With Seal
“The woman blew me away…a powerhouse singer …with a defiant edge to her voice.” –Stereophile
“Unique is an over-used word but this Spanish-African singer and rising world music star’s gorgeous, smoky, profoundly soulful blend of jazz, flamenco, blues, soul and more, deserves the title.” –Miami Herald
A trailblazing force in contemporary Spanish music, Buika stands at the crossroads of many genres—where jazz, funk, flamenco, copla, and neo-soul come together to form a sublimly unique musical sound. Now on her North American tour, Buika makes her Philadelphia debut, performing works from 2010 Latin Grammy nominated album, El Ultimo Trago (The Last Drink), with her pianist Iván “Melon” Lewis in Perelman Theater on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 7:30pm.
Hailed as one of NPR’s “50 Great Voices,” Buika collaborated with piano legend Chucho Valdez in the creation of El Ultimo Trago (2009). The album pays homage to Mexican singing legend Chavela Vargas, and was recently nominated for two 2010 Latin Grammy awards, "Recording of the Year" (for the song "Se Me Hizo Facil") and "Best Traditional Tropical Album."
Buika’s soulful voice also recently caught the attention of singer-songwriter Seal, who invited her to sing on the duet “You Get Me” of his newly released album, Seal 6: Commitment.
Tickets for Buika are $28 to $35 and available by phone at 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or in person at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.)
A limited number of $10 community rush tickets will be available for this performance. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm prior to evening curtain time. Limit one ticket per person.
Globally, Buika counts as fans the iconic Vargas, Alejandro Sanz, Gloria Estefan, Nelly Furtado, and Portuguese fado star Mariza (the latter two with whom she’s recorded duets), film maker Pedro Almodóvar, and fashion photographer Bruce Weber. Almodóvar has been a fan for many years, and recently invited Buika to make her on screen debut in his film La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I'm In), to be released in 2011.
Born María Concepción Balboa Buika to parents who arrived in Spain as political exiles from Equatorial Guinea, Buika’s personal life is as richly textured as her music. Her family were the only African residents in one of Mallorca de Palma’s poor neighborhoods, and she talks often of feeling alienated and isolated there. She found a home in a community of Gypsy families -- and found in flamenco’s individualistic spirit a path to self-acceptance.
Her early career included a stop in Las Vegas, where she worked as a Tina Turner impersonator. In 2007, she released her U.S. debut album, Mi Niña Lola (My Little Girl Lola), after it had already won “Best Album” and “Best Production” honors at the Spanish Music Awards. Her next recording project, Niña de Fuego (Child of Fire), helped catapult her internationally into the ranks of the most exciting voices in modern Latin music and scored two 2008 Latin GRAMMY nominations.
Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts’ Merriam Theater. Our mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience from throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Citi, and the Broadway 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Verizon, and American Airlines. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.
Buika has been underwritten by a generous grant from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation.
Subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.
> index of news releases
> For more information, and to request high resolution images for press use, send us a message online.