Colombian singer-songwriter, composer and guitarist Marta Gómez is one of the finest singer-songwriters in the current Latin American music scene. Gifted with a beautiful, nuanced and seductive voice, and a superb talent for songwriting, her songs are lovely and charming. Marta graduated Magna Cum Laude from the renowned Berklee College of Music.
Marta Gómez dedicated her excellent sixth album to “El corazón y el sombrero” (The heart and the hat) to the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. Released in 2011 on Aluna Records, “El corazón y el sombrero” combines Lorca’s poems with a wide range of Latin American and Spanish traditional genres, including Colombian vallenato, aguabajo and puya; Chilean cueca; Peruvian festejo, Argentine zamba; and Spanish flamenco. Celebrated Spanish-singer songwriter Javier Ruibal appears as guest in a delightful collaboration.
Marta’s “Este Instante” (Aluna, 2014) was funded through Kickstarter. It features 15 musicians and contains a wide range of rhythms and styles from Colombia and other Spanish-speaking South American countries. “Este Instante” also incorporates exquisite contemporary Latin jazz elements and attractive artwork.
Another fascinating side of Marta Gómez is her series of albums with traditional songs for children in Spanish. She released two albums in the “Coloreando” (Coloring) series: “Coloreando: Traditional Songs for Children in Spanish” (GLP Music, 2013) and “Coloreando Dos: Traditional Songs for Children in Spanish” (GLP Music, 2018). Marta collected some of the most cherished children’s songs from Latin America and Spain and gave them a special touch. This is masterfully-crafted, high quality world music for children, introducing young ones to fun songs and rhythms from South America.
The first “Coloreando” album received the 2014 Latin Grammy Award for Best Children’s Music.
Both “Coloreando” albums are available in a special 2 CD set with stunning colorful artwork called “Coloreando & Coloreando Dos” (GLP Music, 2018).
In 2018, Marta Gómez released “La Alegria y el Canto” (Joy and Singing), an enchanting album of lullabies in collaboration with leading Latin American and Spanish singer-songwriters and musicians.
Each song on “La Alegria y el Canto” features an artist from a specific country, including Georgina Hassán (Argentina); Guafa Trío: Ignacio Ramos Cusaria on flute, Javier Andrés Mesa Martinez on bass and Cristian Camilo Guataque on cuatro (Colombia); Antonio Mazzei (Venezuela); Nano Stern (Chile); and marimba master from the Pacific Coast Hugo Candelario (Colombia).
Also included, the masters of Venezuelan cuatro, C4: Edward Ramírez, Jorge Glem and Héctor Molina on cuatro and Gustavo Márquez on bass (Venezuela); Pedro Guerra (Spain); Raquel Riba/Lola Vendetta (Spain); Manu Sija (Argentina); Liuba Maria Hevia (Cuba); Idan Raichel (Israel); Franco Luciani (Argentina); Nicolás Buenaventura (Colombia); César López and Giovanni Parra (Colombia); Salvador Toscano (Argentina); Julián Bozzo (Spain-Uruguay); and José Delgado (Venezuela).
Marta’s most recent album is dedicated to children as well, featuring inspiring fun stories and lullabies. “Una Ventana para Soñar” (A Window to Dream) released in 2020 features Latin American rhythms, choral arrangements, and Marta Gómez sings along with the boys and girls of Colombia.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.