Meet Maritxell

Meet Puerto Rican born, LA-based singer Maritxell. Check out her single, “Corazón“.

Born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Maritxell is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and actress. Blending modern acoustic genres yet firmly rooted in tradition, her music arises from her love of Puerto Rican folklore. “Corazón,” the debut single off her upcoming EP, is a collaboration with long-time friend and Grammy®-nominated producer Jose “Sapo” Gonzalez, perhaps most notably known for being Daddy Yankee’s Musical Director. The passion project features Sapo’s refreshingly live arrangements, while the songstress lends her inspired lyrics and soulful melodies. The two share production credits.

Brought up in an artistic family, Maritxell was not only allowed but encouraged to explore her creative aspirations. Inspirited by her brother Milton Carrero (also a singer-songwriter), she started to play the guitar at age 10. Both he and her parents exposed her to Latin American musicians of all walks of life. She credits Milton for developing a sensitive ear that was further developed during her studies at La Escuela libre de Música de Mayagüez, where she continued exploring the guitar, took voice lessons, and became part of the string rondalla and chorus. While in school, she also fell in love with Latin and Puerto Rican folklore: Tony Croatto, Mercedes Sosa, Danny Rivera, or Lucecita Benitez were just some of the house staples, and so were all the Salsa greats such as The Fania All-Stars, Hector Lavoe, and Ruben Blades.

Despite this abundance of music, it was acting that would soon captivate the bulk of young Maritxell’s attention. She became a professional actress while still in high school and went on to perform on some of the most illustrious theater stages in Spain, Russia, the UK, Germany, and Venezuela. She starred in several Spanish-language soap operas, before leaving to complete her graduate studies in Theater Performance. Yet music was never really far: It was during her European tour as an actress on “The Indian Queen” opera (which won five Golden Mask Awards in 2015) that she felt driven to write and record her own music.

Maritxell’s approach to her songs is clearly influenced by her experience as an actress, as she infuses them with a dramatic element and writes from the point of view of a storyteller. Her style can be described as fiercely feminine and full of poetic imagery. Inspired by strong female performers such as Nina Simone, La Lupe, and Lila Downs, she also lists her mother, a realist painter, and her sister Kimary Carrero, a Salsa singer and actress, as role models.

In Los Angeles, Maritxell has been a cultural ambassador for Puerto Rican culture. Founder of Taller Kurubina, a music and dance company, she has made her mark as a cantadora de Bomba puertorriqueña, serving as lead singer in several groups of the diaspora that proudly carry this traditional genre. Her goal is to make it mainstream, while finding new ways to add to its heritage. A mission into which she is ready to put all her corazón.Website: Maritxell.com

Contact Maritxell at [email protected].
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