Early life and Career Born in
Utrera, Rafael de Utrera began singing flamenco at a young age with the influence of his father, who owned a flamenco club in their hometown of
Utrera. At the age of ten, Rafael had already performed around Andalucia with his brother. Rafael became more well known in the world of flamenco in the year 1997 when famous Spanish flamenco dancer
Cristina Hoyos invited him to join her cast on her world tour. In 2000, Rafael's abilities as a singer gained more recognition when he was a finalist in the singing competition
the XI Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla. Briefly after, in 2001, Rafael de Utrera made his final breakthrough when
Paco de Lucía himself asked Rafael to accompany his world tour in Europe, Japan, and America. Since then, Rafael has been touring frequently around Europe and North America. He has collaborated on albums with artists such as
José Mercé, José Antonio Rodríguez, Niño de Pura, the documentary of the life of Paco de Lucia,
Vicente Amigo's latest album with
Alejandro Sanz,
Enrique Morente, and
Niña Pastori. The most recent collaboration was with the
Netherlands Metropole Orchestra under the direction of
Vince Mendoza where he recorded a live album called "Proyecto Lorca". At the moment, Rafael is performing with the guitarist Vicente Amigo and his cast including his wife, flamenco dancer Carmen Lozano. ==Discography==