Eva Amaral

Eva María Amaral Lallana (Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain 4 August 1972) is a Spanish singer-songwriter, and a member of the group Amaral with Juan Aguirre.

She studied sculpture at the Zaragoza art school, and while studying was the drummer in the band Bandera Blanca. In 1993, she met guitarist Juan Aguirre, a member of the band Días De Vino Y Rosas, and together, they formed the group Amaral. They moved to Madrid and later signed a contract with Virgin Records.

They have recorded successful studio albums and performed as support for Lenny Kravitz's Spanish concerts. Their song Rosa de la Paz was included in a record to support Prestige boat victims, also performing at the Nunca Máis demonstration in Madrid. Moby performed with Eva Amaral on the song "Escapar", the Spanish version of the Amaral song "Slipping Away". Beto Cuevas, front man with the Chilean band "La Ley" joined Amaral on their song "Te Necesito".

Pajaros En La Cabeza is their most well known album.

Family Her father, Isidoro Amaral, was born in Cáceres, Spain, and was the conductor of a music band, even though he did not like music. He died in 1998. Her mother, Carmen Lallana (1943–2007) died in Zaragoza in 2007. Her parents did not like that their daughter worked as a musician, but they accepted it and ended up loving it.

Biography Even though some people believe that she was born in 1973, she confirmed that she turned 40 in 2012. "I just turned 40 and I feel much more secure and stronger than 20 years ago".

She claims that she had a joyful childhood and that she never liked to play with dolls. Instead, she would play music with her cousin. She declares that she is shy and as a teenager, she felt like a weirdo and had many insecurities.

In 2000, after touring to present her first album, she recorded her second one in London. It was called "Una pequeña parte del mundo" (A small part of the world) and it contained 13 songs, 12 written by the band and a version of the song "Nada de nada" by Cecilia. This time, the album was produced by Cameron Jenkins, who also worked with The Rolling Stones, George Michael and Elvis Costello. Eva met him on the recording of an Enrique Bunbury's album, on which she collaborated. Cameron loved her extraordinary voice since the first time he heard it and he proposed the band to work with him. Jenkins produced all their albums until 2008.

In 2001, Eva Amaral was given the title of "honorary citizen" by the local government of Zaragoza.

The band recorded in London their third album, called "Estrella de mar" (Starfish). This was the best seller in Spain in 2002 and the most successful album of the band so far, having sold more than 2 million copies. The album appears as the number 24 on the list "The 50 best Spanish rock albums", made by the magazine Rolling Stone. They did a tour for two years where they gave more than 200 concerts and they played as supporting band in a concert of Lenny Kravitz. Furthermore, in 2003, Eva played the leading role in a short film by Andreu Castro called "Flores para Maika" (Flowers for Maika).

The hard time of "Pájaros en la cabeza" In November 2004, Eva and Juan left for London, where they recorded their fourth album, called "Pájaros en la cabeza" (Head in the Clouds). The album was released on 14 May 2005 and they started the tour in June in Salamanca. Afterwards, they continued the tour in Mexico, Chile and Argentina. Amaral made a stop in Barcelona to record the concert and release it on DVD. It was called "El comienzo del big bang" (The beginning of the big bang). "Pájaros en la cabeza" was the most sold album in Spain in 2005, according to the SGAE (Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers).

Eva and Juan remember this period as a difficult time.

The tour of "Pájaros en la cabeza" turned into a nightmare, so they decided to give fewer concerts on the following tour, and with a band formed by friends, not by professional musicians. Juan declares that they "needed to go back to their origins" and Eva adds that they "have lived a complete regression".

National Award for Modern Music On 27 October 2010, the Spanish Ministry of Culture gave Amaral the II National Award of Modern Music 2010 for their "contribution to the renovation of the current music panorama". The prize consisted of an amount of €30,000. The jury, headed by General Director of the National Institute of Scenic Arts and Music (INAEM), Félix Palomero, consisted of Dania Dévora, Rosa León, Diego Alfredo Manrique, Luis Mendo, Beatriz Pécker, Joan Manuel Serrat and Antonio Garde, the deputy director of Music and Dance of INAEM who acted as vice president.

Through an official statement, the band thanked the jury for the prize and dedicated it to all of their fans. Likewise, they recognize their evolution (from small gigs to big concerts) and see this prize as a starting point to follow in the search for the "perfect concert" and their "best CD". The money was donated to the Vicente Ferrer Foundation and it will be used to build 16 houses in the village of Madirebail, in Anantapur, and to guarantee the university studies of 4 students. The award was given on 12 July 2011 in La Seu Vella (Lérida), in front of the Princes of Asturias at the time, the Minister of Culture (Ángeles González-Sinde), the counselor of Culture (Ferrán Mascarel) and the mayor of the city (Ángel Ros). Jordi Folgado collected the award, as the director of the Vincente Ferrer Foundation.

Sixth record under a personal brand "Hacia lo salvaje" is the name of the sixth album by the band, released on 27 September 2011, already under the new brand created for the band, called "Antártida" and also produced by herself, Juan Aguirre and Juan de Dios Martín. Eva explains the name of the brand saying that

The presentation tour began in Zaragoza 6 October, where they performed five concerts in a row with all tickets sold out. "Hacia lo salvaje" was chosen as the third most important Spanish CD of 2011 by the Rolling Stone magazine.

In 2012, she collaborated with the Spanish heavy metal band Barón Rojo in the song "La Reina Ácida" from their new album "Tommy Barón". (The Spanish version of the song "Acid Queen" by The Who). She performed part of her set topless to show solidarity with other protesting musicians including Rocío Saiz, Bebe, Rigoberta Bandini and Zahara using their work in campaigning for women's rights.