Biography... [español]

Growing up, Azul listened avidly to traditional Latin American folk music, showing a great interest in learning the rhythms and stories from her mother and father. They in turn had been passed down these tunes from their parents and their parents before them, going back generations. Many of these moments of learning took place on family trips into the Mexican countryside where one can appreciate the roots of the sentiments, tales and mysteries that make up the tapestry of Mexican music.

Thus the seed was planted and grew over the course of time, sprouting different shoots of interest; beginning with classical piano lessons throughout her childhood and adolescence, her education was enhanced by a firm commitment to developing her musical knowledge and taste; going from opera singing to her beginnings on the Mexico City Jazz scene in the early 1990’s, which began her professional singing career at the age of 15.

Life and music found Azul leaving the surroundings of Mexico City a few years later, bound for Syracuse, New York. Stepping out as a young woman and a young musician lead to a profound feeling of homesickness and nostalgia for those songs and stories from her childhood. She began to discover a wealth of music that hardly registered on the music scene, at the same time as a whole range of history and values that were her heritage, the culture she had left behind. With her musical and spiritual identity re-affirmed, the journey to spread this music throughout the United States began, meeting and playing with many musicians from a wide variety of genres.

The next step in her musical development took place in San Antonio, US city near the Mexican border, where she played with two groups, Son del Sur and Jemaya; Son del Sur was the continuation of a project begun with Jose Alvarez (guitarist) in Syracuse. Son del Sur’s interpretation of Mexican traditional music was widely appretiated all over Texas. At the same time, Azul played with Jemaya, a band who mixed a message of racial unity with musical influences from Spain, the Caribbean, the United States, Mexico, etc. reflecting the multicultural make-up of the group. Their sound and vision matured and the band were touring in Spain within a year of meeting each other.

In 2003 Azul decided to return to Mexico City and since then has been working in different projects, mainly as a solo artist.  She continues to sing jazz and blues but her burning interest lies in the conservation and development of Mexican folk roots and the diffusion of it through her startlingly passionate and smooth voice. The music itself is full of influences from a broad range of other cultures that have had a lasting effect on Mexican music from the beginning of its creation in the 1500’s with the arrival of the conquistadors. Through her soul, guitar and voice, Azul gives life and meaning to the narratives of Mexican history.