Maria Alejandra Rodriguez

Maria Alejandra Rodriguez is one of the most important Venezuelan singers of her generation.

Her taste and expressive vocal approach have made her a favorite among world music lovers in South America. She was born in the fertile grounds of Maracay, the 'Garden City' in the State of Aragua, Venezuela.

She comes from a musical family and is the grandniece of acclaimed Venezuelan popular music composer Enrique Hidalgo.

She began very early in music when she joined the instrumental group Wenca, but singing has become her greatest passion in life.

She established residence in Caracas in 1999 to continue her musical studies at UNEARTE (National Experimental University of the Arts) where she graduated in Musical Education and consolidated her soloist career.

She has shared the stage with several renowned international artists like Gal Costa, Dulce Ponte and Teresa Salgueiro.

In the Venezuelan musical scene she has accompanied Aquiles Báez and Gerry Weil, among others.

She has also participated in various festivals, concert halls and night clubs in Brazil, Cuba, France and The United States.

She has five albums to date including the successful "Canciones de Enrique Hidalgo '' for which she created the concept and produced.

There, she demonstrated her versatility and originality by presenting classic compositions from the Venezuelan traditional repertoire with a particular touch according to her search for contemporaneity and universality.

This CD was well received by both the national critics and the public as it established a sales record in Venezuela and abroad.One of the tracks attracted the attention of a producer that took her to the prestigious Viña del Mar Festival in Chile.

Her next musical work was entitled "Grano de Tempestad" where she recorded with Pablo Gil who composed the music for the voice of María Alejandra Rodríguez. In 2010, she left for The United States to keep on growing musically.

There she explored the local circuit interpreting her own music as a singer songwriter.

Among her successful presentations were the full house shows in Miami, Florida where she performed at concert halls like Books & Books, Van Dyke Café, and Teatro Para Todos, Hoy Como Ayer, Miami Hilton Intercontinental Wynwood Kitchen and Bar, MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. She also performed sold-out concerts in New York at Terraza Seven, El Taller Latinoamericano, Casa Mezcal, Antibes Bistró and Shrine World Music Venue.

During that time, she kept on moving forward in music in order to mature even more as an integral artist cultivating contributions with high level musicians like Costa Rican pianist Mauricio Quirós who arranged two songs by María Alejandra Rodríguez for her new album; drummer Rodolfo Zúñiga who contributed to her musical ideas, recorded drums for one of her songs, and conducted the band that accompanied her in Miami and included musicians Josh Allen, Derek Fairholm, Alex Berti, Aaron Lebos, Agustin Conti, Jair Coelho and Renier Guerra.

It is also important to highlight the wonderful support of master Puerto Rican flutistNéstor Torres in Miami, and the musical contribution of Afro Peruvian music guitarist Eric Kurimski in New York. María Alejandra Rodríguez returned to her homeland with more musical wisdom and settled in Mérida, 'The City of Gentlemen', wishing to perform for Venezuelans.

In June 2015, she performed with the Aragua Symphony Orchestra playing her own songs. She participated in two important jazz festivals: the Saveurs Jazz Festival in Segré, and Wolfi Jazz in Normandy, France where she was accompanied by the excellent trumpeter Nicolás Folmer in July of this year.

She is currently promoting her latest outing entitled "Aquí y allá" where she debuts as arranger and composer of most tracks, and producer.