Niña Pastori

by Jason BirchmeierNiña Pastori is one of the more accomplished cantaoras among the generation of young pop-flamenco singers to emerge around the turn of the century. She was born María Rosa García García on January 15, 1978, in San Fernando, a city in the province of Cádiz, Spain, and her mother is a successful flamenco singer, La Pastori. She began her career at a young age, often traveling and performing with her mother -- hence her performing name, Niña Pastori, a reference to her relationship to her well-known mother. Niña made her recording debut in 1996 with Entre Dos Puertos, which was produced by Paco Ortega and Alejandro Sanz, the latter Spain's best-selling artist ever. The album boasted a hit song, "Tú Me Camelas," and exhibited a pop-flamenco style targeted chiefly at teenagers. As Pastori would continue to do on subsequent albums, she interpreted songs of others, including Ortega and Sanz themselves. Henceforth Pastori followed with a new album roughly every two years -- Eres Luz (1998), Cañailla (2000), María (2002), No Hay Quinto Malo (2005), Joyas Prestadas (2006) -- and her style of music would grow progressively more mature as she and her audience aged. She's a regular recipient of Latin Grammy attention, with No Hay Quinto Malo winning a nomination in 2005 (Best Flamenco Album) and Joyas Prestadas in 2006 (Best Female Pop Vocal Album).