Today we’d like to introduce you to Luz Angela Jimenez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Luz Angela. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a singer, Tiple player, composer and producer. I was born and raised in the coffee region of Colombia in a town call Armenia (Quindio). I grew up surrounded by mountains, rivers, simple houses and the most exuberant and exotic nature scene you can imagine. I started my musical career at the age of ten. While in middle school, I joined a pop band. Soon enough, I started singing the music style that dictated the rest of my musical career.
Folkloric music in my town is a big deal. Colombia is a large country with different regions each one possesses its own cultural identity. In my region, we grew up listening to Tangos, Milongas, Bambucos Posillos and Valses among others. All of these are pure folklore rhythms from South America.
Around the age of 11, I formed a duet called “Sombra y Luz”, where I was the first voice and the Tiple player. We sang and played traditional music of the region known as Andean Colombia. The duet “Sombra y Luz” recorded four disco-graphic works, and was given first place prizes in all of the most important music festivals of the country, including the “Mono Nuñez Festival”. I also received the prize for “Vocal Soloist”.
As Tiple player, I’ve created the “Colombita String Trio”, which consists of Guitar, Tiple and Bandola. After recording an album based on Colombian themes, we undertook a concert visit to several Central American countries, including participation as special guests in the International Guitar Festival in San José, Costa Rica.
My solo career started In the year of 2000 when I had the opportunity to tour the US through different cities. What I remember most is the concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. At this concert, I began to understand that my mission was to bring my folk music to the international community. After this trip, I returned to Colombia and started planning my next step in life. I later moved to the US and completed my musical studies showcasing my Tiple.
My passion for Sound Engineering and Musical Production brought me to Miami, where famous producer Emilio Estefan choose me to work as producer and arranger in his Studio “Crescent Moon”. One of the projects was playing Tiple and doing background vocals for the song “See With Your Heart”, sung by his wife Gloria Estefan. The Spanish version of the song “Ve Mas Allá”, was given as a companion disc in her book “Las Aventuras de Noel”.
I carried this momentum forward and opened my recording studio “Light Angel Studios”. My team and I produced and wrote music for companies like Zumba and other well-known producers. I was also giving concerts, which included a five months tour in Japan and Taiwan. These concerts featured music of the coastal regions of Colombia and Panama.
The 2008 financial crisis hit and the music industry was forever changed. The situation got very difficult for me as a musician, but it was a good opportunity to resume motivation and work on the exposure of my folkloric music and become a music educator.
An amazing opportunity opened when the world’s acclaimed classical guitarist Pepe Romero invited me to sing accompanied by himself in the guitar, the world’s premiere of “En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor”, based on the second movement of “Concierto de Aranjuez” and written by Maestro Joaquin Rodrigo’s wife. This happens at the Medellin City Metropolitan Theater.
In the midst of all of this, I was able to complete my musical studies in “Musical Education” and “Sound Engineering” at Miami Dade College, and of “Musical Theater” at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Being an independent artist is a real challenge but I feel fortunate enough to said I have made my leaving out of my music. Here are the albums I have recorded as a solo artist.
l. “Por Los Derechos De Los Niños”, a CD of music of the Andean regions of Colombia, made to start a countrywide campaign to help in spreading “Boys and Girls Human Rights”.
2. “Light”, the first work with only songs written by Luz Angela, and co-produced by the Grammy winner Marco Linares. Also taking part in this work are well known international artists like Vitin Paz, who played his trumpet for Frank Sinatra and Mario Bauzá.
3. “San Blas”, album with music of the regions bordering Panama and Colombia’s seas, which was part of the “San Blas Tour”, and also co-produced with Marco Linares.
4. “The Benidorm’s Festival Winners”, done in 2007.
5. “Vela de Plata” most recent 2017, produced by Grammy winner Jose Negroni, featuring artists like Grammy winner Donato Poveda, Maestro Ed Calle, Maestro Litto Nebia, Marco Linares, Negronis ´Trio, Juan Ernesto Laya, Ramses Colon among others.
Nowadays, I have concentrated my career in combining my concerts with being a music educator. Being a teacher, it has been a great opportunity to spread the word of the importance of folk music. Also, the importance of different cultural expression as the value of recognizing the Latin roots of many of us in this country.
Nonetheless, my mission has been the exposure of my instrument “The Colombian Tiple” which is a 12 string steel string little guitar also known as the national instrument of Colombia.
So, this is who I am. A simple girl from the mountains of Colombia that sings, plays the Tiple and dream in showing the folk music from my county in every single corner of this earth.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No a smooth road at all!
When I first came to the US, I did not speak one word of English and I did not have a penny in my pocket. The language barrier was definitely very difficult for me. Not to mention the fact that I meet very important executives in the music industry that wanted to give me “a chance” with the big record labels but for a price that I was never willing to pay. That was very discouraging but never enough to stop me.
Moreover, the financial crisis in 2008 makes a huge impact in my life. The internet took over the music business and in general was a very tough season for a lot of us musicians…
Without a doubt the biggest of the struggles has been living away from my family and my country. I now strongly believe not even the biggest of success can give you back the time you don´t get to spend with your family and the people that love you the more.
Luz Angela – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Definitely, what set me apart from others is that I have dedicated my life to sing Folk Music form Latin America. Specially music from the Andes Region of Colombia. In addition, I Play the Tiple and That is what I am known for. As today I haven’t met nobody in this country that plays the Tiple.
As a business/company, me and my team dedicate our work to the give concerts, classes, clinics in educational and cultural institutions about folk music. I am also a music teacher and all my students have the opportunity to have an approach on folk music. What sets me apart is that I am not a singer trying to become famous. My intentions are to be able to spread the thought of the importance of our roots whatever the country of origin we belong. To put a seed in people’s hearts that our identity is our precious gift.
As a business, we have been looking for the right institution/investor that can take our project to the next level so we can create a real big impact in the community on a global scale.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment was when I toured Japan and Taiwan. We were there for five months. It was the perfect opportunity to full fill my mission as an artist. Besides de concerts, we had the opportunity to go educational and government institutions to talk about our Latin culture covering a lot of different subjects. It was amazing to be able to talk about all the positives of my country Colombia. I was definitely very proud.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.luzangela.net
- Email: luzangelatiple@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luzangelaji/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luzangelasinger/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/LuzAngelaMusic
Image Credit:
Personal Photo by: Richard Wolf; Koke photography- Alvaro Jaramillo; Carlos Beltran; Carlos Zamudio
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