Santiago Cruz

Santiago Cruz Vélez (born 1 February 1976) is a Colombian singer and songwriter.

Early life Cruz was born on 1 February 1976 in Ibagué, Colombia, the Colombian musical capital. He was raised by his mother, his two grandmothers and 10 aunts. After 17 years of living in his hometown and having spent his adolescence in the middle of study and military service, Santiago moved to the Colombian capital to study "Finance and International Relations."

Career In 2003, Cruz released his first album titled Solo hasta hoy. The single "Una y otra vez" made him known in the field of music. The name of this album, according to Cruz, comes from the label, "Equilibrio Producciones’", which he created when he was an independent artist.

In 2017, Cruz released the album Trenes, aviones y viajes interplanetarios together with Elsa y Elmar and Pedro Capó. This album received a Latin Grammy nomination in the “Best Singer-Songwriter Album” category. The single “Contar hasta 3, O hasta 10“ was included in this album, which shed light on women's rights and the feminist movement.

Humanitarian work In 2011, Cruz was appointed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) representative in Colombia, Bruno Moro, as Goodwill Ambassador for UNDP. His first working experience with UNDP began in October 2010 at a Bogota peacebuilding festival called Expopaz. After this appointment, Cruz's new duties would include combating poverty and violence against women “in a permanent call for peace and reconciliation among Colombians.”

Discography

Studio albums 2003: Solo hasta hoy 2006: Sentidos 2009: Cruce de caminos 2012: A quien corresponda 2014: Equilibrio 2017: Trenes, aviones y viajes interplanetarios 2019: Elementales 2021: Dale 2023: Nueve

Awards and nominations