Rafael Usero (born 14 July 1973) is a Spanish flamenco singer more commonly known of his stage name Rafael de Utrera.

Biography

Born in

Utrera Utrera () is a municipality in south-west Spain. It is in the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. As of 2018 it has a population of 52,617. The town is of great historical interest. It was occupied by Muslims in the ...

, Rafael de Utrera began singing flamenco at a young age with the influence of his father, who owned a flamenco club in their hometown of

. At the age of ten, Rafael had already performed around Andalucia with his brother. Rafael became more well known in the world of flamenco in the year 1997 when famous Spanish flamenco dancer

Cristina Hoyos Cristina Hoyos Panadero (born 13 June 1946) is a Spanish flamenco dancer, choreographer and actress, born in Seville, Spain. After a successful worldwide career, she opened her own dance company in 1988 that premiered at the Rex Theatre in Paris ...

invited him to join her cast on her world tour. In 2000, Rafael's abilities as a singer gained more recognition when he was a finalist in the singing competition the XI Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla. Briefly after, in 2001, Rafael de Utrera made his final breakthrough when

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...

himself asked Rafael to accompany his world tour in Europe, Japan, and America. Since then, Rafael has been touring frequently around Europe and North America. He has collaborated on albums with artists such as

José Mercé José Mercé (born José Soto Soto in 1955 in Jerez de la Frontera) is a Spanish flamenco singer. As a 12-year-old he performed at flamenco festivals. Later he moved to Madrid where he recorded his first album in 1968. Family He is the great- ...

, José Antonio Rodríguez, Niño de Pura, the documentary of the life of Paco de Lucia,

Vicente Amigo Vicente Amigo Girol (born 25 March 1967) is a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist, born in Guadalcanal near Seville. He has played as an accompanying guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers Camarón de la Isla, and Luis de Córdoba, an ...

's latest album with Alejandro Sanz,

Enrique Morente Enrique Morente Cotelo (25 December 1942 – 13 December 2010), known as Enrique Morente, was a flamenco singer (in Spanish, cantaor) and a celebrated figure within the world of contemporary flamenco. After his orthodox beginnings, he plunged in ...

, and

Niña Pastori María Rosa García García (born 15 January 1978 in San Fernando, Cádiz), better known as Niña Pastori, is a Spanish flamenco singer ( cantaora). Biography María Rosa García was born in 1978 in the town of San Fernando in Cadiz. The youn ...

. The most recent collaboration was with the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra under the direction of

Vince Mendoza Vince Mendoza (born November 17, 1961) is an American composer, music arranger and conductor, and six-time Grammy Award winner. He debuted as a solo artist in 1989, and is known for his work conducting the Metropole Orkest and WDR Big Band K� ...

where he recorded a live album called "Proyecto Lorca". At the moment, Rafael is performing with the guitarist Vicente Amigo and his cast including his wife, flamenco dancer Carmen Lozano.

Discography

Collaborated acts

DVD

References

External links

rafaeldeutrera.com Official Homepage

flamenco-world.com Rafael de Utrera's profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Utrera, Rafael De Living people 1973 births Flamenco singers Singers from Andalusia People from Utrera 21st-century Spanish singers 21st-century Spanish male singers