JESÚS BIENVENIDO Jesús Bienvenido, born in Cadiz, Spain in 1976, begins his musical career studying flamenco guitar at the age of eight. By age 11, he accompanies local dancers and singers. At the same time, he begins leading, accompanying and singing in a group of young musicians who perform competitively in Cadiz’s comedic musical competitions during Carnival known as Chirigotas. In addition to the guitar, Jesús learns to play several instruments, including piano and percussion. He attends the Manuel de Falla Conservatory of Music and the Jazz School of the University of Cadiz and takes private lessons with artists such as Luis Balaguer, Antonio Reina and Laura Furci. Throughout his teens and 20’s, Jesús performs regularly in comparsas, musical groups that write and present songs that highlight social themes that are also performed in Cadiz’s carnival competitions. Jesús quickly becomes a local celebrity as his songs win a slew of awards year after year. At the age of 20, Jesús is commissioned to compose and write the lyrics for the song, La Musica del Sur, by the Spanish musical group Levantito. This kicks off a long and fruitful songwriting career, during which Jesús creates songs for major Spanish artists, including Pasion Vega, India Martinez, Manuel Carrasco, David de Maria and internationally renowned actor Antonio Banderas, among others. His songs have been featured on over 15 albums, not including the dozens of recordings that have come from his collaboration with Cadiz’s comparsas. In 2008, Jesús founds his own comparsa called La Comparsa de Jesús Bienvenido, for which he composes all of the music and acts as musical and artistic director. The group grows to be one of the audience favorites and becomes a regular in the competition finals. Over the years, his songs have addressed themes raging from politics to immigration to domestic violence and human rights. Jesús is the recipient of three Candela y Espino Prizes awarded by Amnesty International. Also in 2008, Pasion Vega’s album La Reina del Pay-Pay not only goes gold but also wins the national award for the Best Spanish Music Album given by the SGAE and the Songwriter Foundation in collaboration with the Artists Society of Spain. Jesús Bienvenido composed and wrote the lyrics for six of the album’s songs and arranged three additional songs. Jesús has arranged songs on two of Pasión Vega’s albums, as well as handling the vocal arrangements for flamenco singer David Palomar’s album la Viña, cantón independiente. He’s also performed as a backing vocalist on seven albums and performed in Pasión Vega and Jorge Drexler’s live shows. Jesús records his debut solo album, Sean Bienvenidos, in 2017, a project that was financed entirely through crowdfunding, in which Jesús’ fans donated over 6,000 euros. The album features 12 songs that are a combination of new tunes, some of Jesús’ most lauded works written for comparsas and songs originally written for other artists, but all are performed by Jesús, who is accompanied by a myriad of acclaimed Spanish musicians, including Jesús Lavilla, Manuel Posadas and José Mena.