Famous worldwide for his passionate flamenco singing, award-winning artist Diego Ramón Jiménez Salazar was born in Madrid, in 1968, to a prominent musical family. Nicknamed El Cigala for his small figure and strong vocals, Diego won his first national flamenco contest at 12, and spent much of his late teen years accompanying flamenco dancers all over Spain. Since 2000, his albums have been acclaimed the world over, most especially 2003's Lágrimas negras - with Cuban jazz pianist Bebo Valdés - which received international praise, including being hailed Album of the year by the New York Times, and a Grammy for Best Flamenco album. Subsequent releases include 2004's Picasso tribute album Picasso en mis ojos, and more recently, 2008's Dos lagrimas.