Primary Instrument: Vocal
Lucia Pulido is a Colombian singer with one of the richest voices on the international Latin American musical scene today. She has mined the musical traditions of her native Colombia and other Latin American countries in an ongoing search for a distinct, experimental style, and has participated in various projects, ranging from traditional Colombian music to jazz and “Nueva Cancion” (New Song). Traditional genres such as cumbia and bullerengue from the Colombian Caribbean, currulaos from the Pacific Coast as well as joropos of the Colombian Eastern Plains are the point of departure for musical creativity. Lucia's vocal sophistication is enhanced in genres such as herding songs (cantos de vaqueria), funeral laments (alabaos) and harvest chants (cantos de zafra) which give the singer the liberty to explore her voice fully.
She was part of the duo “Ivan y Lucia” for more than ten years with the singer and songwriter Iván Benavides, with whom she recorded three L.P.'s between 1986-1991, touring in Europe and Latin America.
Lucia's musical compass after her arrival in New York in 1994 has been focused on an experimental approach to traditional Colombian rhythms and songs. In 1995 she recorded her first solo CD Lucia with the Colombian recording company Sonolux, distributed in the USA by Sony. She has been invited to sing and record with different jazz musicians such as Ed Simon, Dave Binney, and Erik Friedlander. In the United States, Lucia has promoted her music in private theaters, universities, and in well known venues of the New York City area (Joe's Pub, Lincoln Center Out Doors, Queens Theatre in the Park, Knitting Factory, Roulette, among others). She has participated in several festivals in the city as well. She received a grant for New York City resident artists in 2000 from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Foundation LMCC and from May to July of 2007 she was an Artist In Residence in Krems, Austria.
In 2000, together with the Japanese percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, she recorded a CD for the German label Intuition (”Religious and Pagan songs from Colombia”), which is available in the European and American market. In 2004 she recorded “Dolor de Ausencia”, a selection of classic Latin American songs of broken love released by the label FM in Colombia. In 2005, together with Argentinean guitarist Fernando Tarres she recorded “Songbook” I and II for BAU Records. Her latest work “Waning Moon”, based on traditional Colombian music, will be released by the label Adventure Music in the USA in the fall of 2008; and the Songbook III with Fernando Tarres will, too, be released by BAU records in Argentina.
She is currently working on several projects with musicians in New York and in different countries in Latin America. Some of these are: an experimental project based on Latin American traditional songs with Argentinean guitarist Fernando Tarres; a project “America Contemporánea “ um Outro Centro” with Brazilian pianist Benjamim Taubkin and several musicians from different countries in Latin America; the classic repertoire of Latin American songs of broken love performed with musicians based in New York; New York cellist Erik Friedlander's “Colombiana” project; and the performance of experimental arrangements of Colombian traditional music, as well as newly composed songs written for her, with her ensemble in New York. Her active career includes performances in Europe, Canada, United States, and Latin America.
