Open Stage: Duo Cantares

Cantares is a duo formed by Venezuelan singer Nathaly Gómez and Peruvian multi-instrumentalist and musicologist Camilo Pajuelo.

The duo was born in 2017, in Helsinki, inspired by a common passion for the music of its own cultural background and the desire to promote it in the Nordic countries. Its repertoire consists of own arrangements of songs composed by remarkable composers, including a rich variety of Latin American genres and styles. Cantares has offered its first official concert at the church of Leppävaara, Espoo in Finland, in November 2017. Since then, performs on a regular basis, sharing the stage also with local artists from different nationalities. Cantares has also performed in France, Peru, and Spain.

Nathaly Gómez Martínez (Venezuela, 1973) is a singer, yoga instructor and lawyer. Singing and playing the cuatro since childhood has led him to participate in various performances at school and university. He has studied singing in his home country and in Finland. Currently, he is studying singing & cuatro at the Escuela Contemporánea de la voz conservatory and performs as a singer in the Duo Cantares and Hola Helsinki Salsa band.

Camilo Pajuelo Valdez (Peru, 1973) is a musician and musicologist. Valdez studied solo guitar at the National Conservatory of Peru in Lima. He has completed his master's degree at the Department of Musicology at the University of Helsinki and is currently preparing his doctoral degree there. In addition to solo performances, he currently performs with Duo Cantares and Ensemble Wirakocha. He teaches guitar at Sibelius Academy, International School of Music Finland, Sävelmetsä and Steinerkoulu in Espoo.