Sílvia Pérez Cruz (born in Palafrugell, 15 February 1983) is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

singer and composer. In 2012, she recorded her first solo album, ''11 de Novembre'', which was nominated for album of the year in both Spain and France. A song performed by her, "No te puedo encontrar", received a

Goya Award The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...

for Best Original Song for 2012. In 2014, she released her album ''Granada''. Both releases have been in collaboration with Raül Fernández Miró. She received another Goya Award for best original song, for the song "Ai, ai, ai", composed and performed by her, for the film '' At Your Doorstep'' (2016). In 2022, the Spanish Government awarded her the "Premio Nacional de la Músicas Actuales" ("National Prize for contemporary music"). In her latest album, ''Toda la vida, un día'' (2023), Cruz "recreated her whole life in a single album, embarking on what would become a year-long work recorded in Barcelona, Pontós, Madrid, Jerez, Buenos Aires, Coatepec and Havana." On July 1, 2024, she performed on NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert."

Background

Cruz's parents were both singers who sang together. Her mother Glòria Cruz i Torrellas taught her to play the saxophone and piano as well as how to dance and sculpt. Her father Càstor Pérez Diz was a self-taught guitarist. She has a daughter, Lola. She went to Catalonia College of Music in Barcelona, where she received classical training studying the piano and saxophone and receiving a degree in

vocal jazz Vocal jazz or jazz singing is a genre within jazz music where the voice is used as an instrument. Vocal jazz began in the early twentieth century. Jazz music has its roots in blues and ragtime and can also traced back to the Dixieland jazz, New Or ...

. While she was at Catalonia College of Music, she and three other women founded a

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

group called Las Migas. They combined their different musical approaches to create a new type of flamenco. It was not long after this that she became well known in the Spanish music scene. Cruz told

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that a song must have a story. She believes that her view of songs as stories comes from her mother who was a singer and storyteller. Her mother, she said, also viewed songs as stories.

''11 de Novembre''

In 2012, Cruz released her album ''11 de Novembre'' with Raül Refree. She met Miró in 2006 and they toured together in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Miró was both guitarist and producer for the album. Their songs have been described as a blend of music genres including

Fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...

jazz improvisation Jazz improvisation is the spontaneous invention of melodic solo lines or accompaniment parts in a performance of jazz music. It is one of the defining elements of jazz. Improvisation is composing on the spot, when a singer or instrumentalist inv ...

, and

. Cruz won a Goya Award, Spain's most prestigious film award, for best original song "No Te Puedo Encontrar" in the film '' Blancanieves''. The album received a Gold Award disc.

''Granada''

In 2014, Cruz released her second album ''Granada'', again collaborating with Raül Refree. It reflects Cruz's practice of singing in multiple languages: French, German, English, and four Iberian languages. Included on the album is the song "El Cant Dells Ocells," a Catalan folk song previously made famous by

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Cruz first understood the story in the song when she was part of a concert honoring the remaining veterans of the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

who fought against the Nationales in the civil war. Cruz told NPR that she saw tears in the veterans' eyes when they sang the song in their own language. She said, "These people have lived through so much. It's good that I can sing and help them remember." As journalist Betto Arcos concluded, this example illustrates how Cruz comes to understand the stories in the songs she sings.

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Silvia Perez Cruz on Myspace

Silvia Perez Cruz on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Silvia Perez 1983 births People from Baix Empordà Singers from Catalonia Latin Grammy Award winners Living people 21st-century Spanish singers 21st-century Spanish women singers Catalonia College of Music alumni