Javier Ruibal was born in
El Puerto de Santa María, in the province of
Cádiz in southern Spain. His first album, called
Duna, was released in 1983. He is highly regarded for his vocal talent and for blending the musical traditions of
flamenco,
jazz, and the
Maghreb to develop his own personal style. He plays the guitar and is usually accompanied by another guitar player, first
Antonio Toledo and since around 2000 Tito Alcedo, and occasionally by more musicians such as John Parsons,
Jorge Pardo and
Chano Domínguez. He has ventured beyond Spain to appear at venues in
Algeria, England, the
West Bank, and New York City. Ruibal has composed music for several other Spanish artists and famous singers; some, such as
Ana Belén or
David Broza, have sung his compositions. He also appeared on stage together with artists' such as
Pablo Milanés,
Joaquín Sabina, and . In 2007, he was awarded the Medal of Andalusia by the autonomous government of
Andalusia. In 2009, he was chosen to give the opening address of the Cádiz
Carnaval celebration. In 2020, Javier Ruibal's song
Intemperie was awarded the prize for the best original song (in the movie
Intemperie by
Benito Zambrano) at the
Goya Awards, sometimes dubbed the "Spanish Oscars". ==Works==