Pitingo in concert

Pitingo presents his ‘Souleria,’ a Spanish-language collection of well-known and historic songs for the first time in Miami.

Sierralta Entertainment and Live Nation present Pitingo, a charismatic singer from Spain whose musical style is a fusion of the high-wrought copla style of flamenco vocals with the smooth musical tropes of soul/R&B. His second album, Soulería (2008), a Spanish-language collection of well-known cover songs, propelled him to Top Ten success in his homeland.

Based in Madrid, Pitingo was born Antonio Álvarez Vélez in Ayamonte, Huelva, in 1981. He made his full-length solo album debut in 2006 with Pitingo con Habichuelas (2006) in association with Universal Music Spain. The album is a collaboration between Pitingo and the Habichuela family of musicians, the most well-known of whom is Juan Habichuela, a celebrated guitarist from Granada.

On Pitingo’s second album, Soulería (2008), he collaborated once again with Habichuela as well as another celebrated guitarist, Juan Carmona. A top ten success, the album was a Spanish-language collection of well-known cover songs including Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly and Julio Iglesias’ Gwendolyn.

He pulled off the same trick with the 2010 follow-up, Olé & Amén —half the album was covers of soul classics by the likes of Donna Summer and Stevie Wonder, and the other half straight-up flamenco.

His 2011 release Malecón Street featured primarily Cuban-influenced material and saw him further refine his smooth fusion of flamenco and soul-pop, as typified on the promo track Nosotros.

Special "Meet and Greet" with the artist —only for CCEMiami members— on September 17 at 8 pm at Centro Cultural Español de Miami. Free admission, RSVP at 305-448-9677.