Laura Marchal was born in Jaen, Spain. She boasts an extensive artistic trajectory, having traversed the peñas of Andalusia’s geographical expanse. Her nascent steps as a professional flamenco singer were taken in Seville, where she resided for eight years, receiving tutelage from illustrious masters such as Manuel Vera “Quincalla” and Miguel Ortega.
Having pursued studies at the renowned Cristóbal de Morales Professional Conservatory and obtained a teaching degree in music at the University of Seville, she eventually moved to Barcelona in 2018. There, she concluded her higher music education, specializing in flamenco, and has since been ardently engaged as a principal instructor of flamenco singing at the Superior School of Music.
Her foray into flamenco festivals has bestowed upon her the honor of sharing the stage with luminaries of the genre, while her participation in competitions has proven remarkably fecund. She has earned prestigious national accolades, including the coveted First Prize for Youth at the Antonio Mairena National Competition (Seville, 2017), the top honor at the National Cante Competition of La Llagosta (Barcelona, 2018), and the Third Prize Naranjito de Triana (Seville, 2020).
A repository of vast erudition and a profound grasp of flamenco tradition, her singing bears witness to her profound formation. Through an interpretation that is both personal and heartfelt, she captivates us, summoning forth a past redolent with tradition even as she emerges as a young artist of her era.
Presently, she is immersed in the creation of her debut album, to be christened La teoría de los afectos (The Theory of Affections). This intimate and emotive project finds the cantaora from Jaén in search of her own voice within the realm of flamenco, an artistic endeavor that encompasses both performance and composition. Her flamenco persona is approached from a deeply personal place, where songs spring forth from an expansive palette of musical influences and hues. The recording of this album stands as the zenith of a creative process, a journey undertaken by the artist herself, generously funded in 2022 by the Paco de Lucía Foundation and the Música Creativa Foundation.
(headline image: Laura Marchal – Photo by Noelia Hiniesta)
Author: Claudia Taylor
