Cigala is a gipsy singer-songwriter born in Madrid in 1968 and nephew of Rafael Farina. Since his childhood he has been singing in his Madrid neighborhood of 'El Rastro' (known for its large flea market), later doing the same in the peñas (Flamenco fan clubs), and at the age of 12 he won a prize in the Gente Joven (Young People) competition and first prize in the Flamenco Joven (Young Flamenco) competition in Getafe (a city in Madrid's southern metropolitan area).

He has accompanied such famous dancers as Cristobal Reyes, Mario Maya, Manolete, Carmen Cortes, Guito, Farruco and Manuel Camacho. He has performed on records by Camaron, Paco Peña, Gerardo Núñez, Tomatito, and has worked with renowned musicians of the likes of Jorge Pardo, Carlos Benavent and Michel Camilo, to name but a few.

He has traveled the world over, visiting Iraq, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, United States and more.

In 1994, he embarked on his solo career accompanied by the guitarist Ant?n Jimenez and was chosen by the public of the Sala Revolver concert venue in Madrid as Best New Artist of the year.

In 1995, he shared the billing with Morente, Merce and Parrita. In May of that year he released Undebel with the participation of David Amaya, Paquete, Parrita, J.M. Cortina, Bandolero, Chaboli and El Pira?a. With Undebel, Dieguito El Cigala burst onto the record scene.

El Cigala's best known collaboration was the recording Lagrimas Negras with Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes. These two renowned performers, from two distinct disciplines, joined forces to create a third, powerful and distinctive musical language. Bebo Valdes is the pianist and composer arranger who has helped shape Cuban music for the last 60 years. He is also the father of jazz phenomenon Chucho Valdes. Diego 'El cigala' is the younger traditional soul-searching flamenco singer from Spain. They used boleros as their medium, Spanish as their language, and together they created Afro-Cuban influenced boleros with a distinct flamenco personality.

It was film director Fernando Trueba who had the idea of putting Bebo Valdes (85 at the time), and "El Cigala" (who was 35), together to record the all-time classic album and recreate songs such as "Lagrimas Negras", "Corazon Loco", "Se me olvid? que te olvid?" and "La bien pag?".

L?grimas Negras has become an international best seller, with over 700.000 copies sold all over the world, 300.000 in Spain.

In 2006, El Cigala won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Flamenco Album with Picasso en Mis Ojos.

Lagrimas Negras

Picasso en Mis Ojos

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