AMELIA RIVERA

Amelia Rivera Barreto was born in Bogota, Colombia and relocated with her family to Guatemala City when she was a baby. She showed a passion and talent for singing and performing from a young age. In the winter of 2003 Amelia joined the Performing Arts Studio academy in Guatemala city directed by Maestro Willy Gutierrez. In the Performing Arts Studio Amelia studied popular vocal technique and drama, and performed as a soloist in individual and group pop music recitals until 2007 when she moved to Seattle, Washington.

In 2006 she began studying classical voice with internationally renowned Baritone Luis Felipe Girón May. As a soprano she participated in "Mosaico cultural" 2006 and 2007 in Antigua Guatemala, among other classical music events. In 2008, Amelia moved to Seattle, WA where she studied vocal performance and took advantage of the music scene the area offers.

Amelia then moved to the Twin Cities, and attended the University of Minnesota where she continued studying vocal performance and cultural anthropology. While in Minnesota, she was the lead vocalist of a French Café band in Saint Paul called Café Société with whom she performed around the Twin Cities and other Midwest cities regularly. Some of Café Société’s main influences include Edith Piaf, the French band Paris Combo, as well as the Latin American sounds of Jobim. 

Life then took her to Europe where she lived for 7 years and taught contemporary singing in cultural centers as well as her own private studio in Prague. She sang in chorales in Berlin and performed as a soloist in cultural events and festivals. She now lives in her dear Guatemala and continues teaching singing and performing as a soloist in both contemporary and classical music styles.

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She has a specialization diploma in vocal pedagogy and technology and is working on her singing teacher certification from New York Vocal Coaching.