Estepa, 1989

Armando Mateos was born in 1989 in Estepa, in the Province of Seville. At the age of eleven he started singing in benefit galas, in Flamenco clubs, as well as festivals. In 2007 he sang the winning Soleá in the “Naranjito de Triana” singing contest and as a result received a scholarship from the Fundación Cristina Heeren, where he studied under teachers such as Calixto Sánchez and Paco Taranto. Now he himself is Flamenco singing teacher at the school. As solo singer, he has performed in many Flamenco clubs of Andalusia, Murcia, Extremadura, and Alicante, and has been fortunate enough to perform in important festivals, appearing in the same programme as stars like Chocolate, José el de la Tomasa, José Meneses, and Antonio Reyes. With Argentinian pianist Pablo Cafici, Armando launched himself into a musical world other than Flamenco by singing Argentinian Tangos. As singer accompanying dance performances, Armando has worked in several tablaos such as La casa de la Guitarra and El Callejón del Embrujo. He has also performed in theatres in Seville with companies such as Artes Escénicas Rebollar and the Escuela de Danza Ysabia. A significant step upwards in his career was his appearance in the show Eclosión, produced by the Fundación Cristina Heeren de Arte Flamenco, first in the Flamenco Festival of Jerez and later in other countries. Since the very beginning of his career Armando has received several awards in festivals and contests all over Spain, the latest being the 1st Fandango prize in Santa Coloma de Gramenet- Barcelona at the Flamenco-On Festival.