Amparo Sandino

Colombian vocalist Amparo Sandino first picked up the guitar when she turned eight, setting in motion a trajectory that would lead to a professional music career. Her deep engagement with song eventually earned her a degree in education, after which she moved into advertising as a jingles performer, appeared with several regional pop and rock groups, and, in 1992, became a member of Carlos Vives’s band. Two years later, while appearing at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, she attracted the attention of a major-label A&R executive who encouraged her to pursue a solo path; that decision resulted in the 1996 release of her debut album, Punto de Partida, which featured the track “Bailame” recorded with the French-based Gipsy Kings. Following her appearance at Billboard’s Tenth Annual International Latin Music Conference in Miami Beach, Sandino issued her second album, El Año Del Gato, in 1999.