Rocío Márquez (Huelva, 1985) is one of the key figures in 21st-century flamenco music. As a singer, she follows in the footsteps of major innovators of the genre. Over her three-decade artistic career, she has combined research, creativity, and exceptional interpretive skills. The result is a powerful contribution to placing flamenco at the forefront of contemporary music.
Rocío uses her extraordinary vocal ability to serve her artistic curiosity, breaking through flamenco traditions without dogma or attachment. For her, the deep-rooted flamenco tradition is a source of inspiration and a platform from which to take flight. She explores melodies, instrumentation, arrangements, lyrics, vocal textures, and flamenco’s physicality itself.
Her discography reflects a journey of self-discovery, a process of self-affirmation and a declaration of freedom and artistic playfulness: Aquí y ahora (2009), Claridad (2012), El Niño (2014), Firmamento (2017), Diálogo de viejos y nuevos sones (with Fahmi Alqhai, 2018), Visto en El Jueves (2019), Omnia vincit amor (with Enrike Solinís, 2020), Tercer cielo (with Bronquio, 2022), and Flamencos: Falla, Albéniz, Granados (with Rosa Torres Pardo, 2022).
In these albums, Rocío engages in open dialogue with artists from various musical genres, forging collaborations that connect flamenco with baroque, classical, Spanish and Latin American folk, urban and electronic music, jazz, singer-songwriter traditions, pop, rock, and contemporary music. She has worked with acclaimed artists such as Jorge Drexler, Christina Rosenvinge, and Kiko Veneno.
Her career is marked by significant milestones, including being the first woman to win all four specific awards plus the prestigious Lámpara Minera at the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas in La Unión (2008)—an achievement only matched by Miguel Poveda. She is also the first Spanish artist to win France’s Les Victoires du Jazz award (2020), and the first flamenco album (Visto en El Jueves) to be recognized in the World Music category. In 2019, she became the first woman to receive the Gold Medal of La Petenera.
Her latest album, Tercer cielo, was named Best Album of the Year 2022 by PAM (Associated Music Journalists). Critics have highlighted it as a landmark record in flamenco’s evolution, alongside classics like Enrique Morente’s Omega and Camarón de la Isla’s La leyenda del tiempo.
Throughout her career, Rocío has brought her voice from flamenco clubs to the world's most prestigious stages, including the Teatro Real, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Primavera Sound, and the Philharmonie de Paris. She has performed in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas.
Beyond her recordings and live performances, she has participated in the film industry with original songs for films such as Fandango by Remedios Málvarez and Arturo Andújar (2024), Teresa by Paula Ortiz (2023), El mundo es vuestro by Alfonso Sánchez Fernández (2022), El Cover by Secun de la Rosa (2021), Pico Reja, la verdad que la tierra esconde by Remedios Málvarez and Arturo Andújar (2021), and Entre dos aguas by Isaki Lacuesta (2018).
Rocío Márquez holds a PhD cum laude from the University of Seville with a thesis on "Vocal Technique in Flamenco." She is also a lecturer in the Interuniversity Master’s Degree in Flamenco Research and Analysis and regularly gives talks on the flamenco voice.
