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Valentina Montoya
Martinez
is Chilean. She has been singing South American folk songs since
she was a young girl. Now based in Edinburgh, she fronts her own group
Voces del Sur.
David Russell
has been playing guitar since the age of 11. He began to play Latin
American music on meeting Valentina
Gerardo
Ballesteros began his studies in his native Buenos Aires under
the tutelage of Carlos Riganti. Gerardo specialises in Cuban /South
American percussion
May Halyburton
on graduating from
R.S.A.M.D. took up an orchestral post
with Orquestra Simfonica de Balears, Palma de Mallorca. Since returning
to Scotland in 1998 she has explored other genres of music leading to
her working with Voces del Sur.
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Valentina Montoya
Martínez - full biography
Valentina was born in Chile and is the daughter of an ex-political
prisoner. Her exiled family arrived in Britain in 1977. She grew
up surrounded by the folk music of her native land, a central part of
her life Britain, and often the focal point of a small community of
exiles. She began to accompany her singing on guitar when she was
twelve and soon began performing at Chilean cultural events. She also
developed a love of Argentine tango, from the many recordings her
mother had brought over from Chile.
She studied Community Theatre at Diploma level and subsequently
embarked on a University education, graduating in Comparative American
Studies from Warwick University in 1994. She then travelled to Mexico,
where she remained for two years, teaching English and Drama at the
University of Puebla.
On her return Valentina began a Masters Degree on the work of
Víctor Jara (one of her main inspirations) and set off for
Edinburgh, where she met David Russell, an accomplished Scottish
guitarist and sound engineer. They started the band VOCES DEL SUR, and
created a vibrant weekly Latin American folk music event - the
Peña - a platform for folk musicians to meet and perform
live music/poetry.
She also began working with Mr McFall’s Chamber (an ensemble of
musicians from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra), singing Argentine tango
- a collaboration which began at Edinburgh’s renowned Bongo Club in
1997. Inspired by this experience she created her own tango band
and has recorded with both.
Her band Voces del Sur played at the launch of Robert Newman’s novel,
‘The fountain at the centre of the world’, in Edinburgh, in 2003.
She toured the highlands with Mr McFall’s Chamber in 2004 and features
on their live DVD, launched in 2005 at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh.
Voces del sur are an important part of Edinburgh’s cultural landscape
and their performances include the Edinburgh Mela, Edinburgh Festival,
Cambridge Fringe, Traquair Fair, Green Note Festival, Knockengorroch
Festival, Edinburgh Playhouse, and the Bongo Club. They were also the
host band at the If.comedy Awards in 2006. They have featured on
various BBC Radio Scotland programmes, promoting their first album
Senderos.
In 2007 Valentina performed in a series of UK concerts with Mr McFall’s
Chamber, including venues such as The Snape Maltings and Brunton
Theatre and a variety of festivals.
She also she secured funding from the Scottish Arts Council for a
project of original tango songs with Robert McFall and the renowned
bandoneon player Victor Villena (from the Gotan Project) and has now
completed the composition of these.
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