Cristie (promotion)

Cristina Sánchez Ruiz (born 31 May 1978 in Fuengirola, Málaga), better known as Cristie, is a Spanish flamenco singer who became famous with her involvement in the reality TV series Operación Triunfo in the winter of 2002-2003.
Cristina Sanchez was born in Fuengirola on May 31, 1978 in Málaga. She and her two brothers were raised in Fuengirola by their father. She is not the only of her family who can sing - her cousin Anabel Conde has won the national Euro song contest in Spain. At 16 years old she stopped studying and dedicated herself to music. She had to work in a clothes store, but very quickly she formed a group with some friends and began to sing in bars and pubs of Fuengirola.
Before Operación Triunfo
Her beginning in showbiz was in a flamenco band called Cheli 3, in which they made fusions of flamenco, gospel and funk. She then joined Caste Huarochiri, where she became more deeply involved in flamenco and dance, and then Los Activos. With them, Cristie travelled through the settings of the most prominent festivals of Spain including Espárrago Rock, Festimad, The Festival of Autumn of Madrid, and The Sea of Music. She also performed in other countries including the Expo of Hannover, the Pop Kom (Germany) and the theater Ouro Verde in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2002, Cristie spent seven months acting in the Blue Note of Tokyo.
On return to Spain, José María Elegant (the prestigious guitarist of classical flamenco) asked Cristie to form part of his group, La Maestranza, and to act in the Bienal of Flamenco of Seville. This same month, Cristie presented herself to the casting of Operación Triunfo, entering the Academy of Artists. When Cristie was voted out after 6 weeks, they started to work together again, which resulted in the release of Puro Teatro in 2004.



Puro Teatro
Puro Teatro was the debut album of Cristie. It's a CD with different styles of music, mostly flamenco, but with a flavour of R&B, Pop and a lot of songs of the style which in Spain is referred to as Funky. "Puro Theatro" is the title track; its name is after a song of the great Puertorican musician and composer Catalino Curet Alonso.
The CD was recorded in Spain, (Madrid and Barcelona), and produced by Sergio Castillo and Nacho Lesko.
This album was described by critics as Urban-Flamenco or New Flamenco/Nuevo Flamenco. They emphasize the song called "Tonight" produced by Noel Pastor and Dioni Gómez. The Soleá subject is dedicated to her hometown, Fuengirola. In Soleá, Pedro Javier Hermosilla and Mayan Juan collaborate in the track. Other producers that also participite in the commented disc are Noel Pastor and Dioni Gómez who have worked with artists like Tony Santos, Tony Aguilar and Austin. They have produced two subjects of the album Cambiar and Tonight. First single was Pal Infierno, a flamenco fusion of R&B and soul.
Con La Suerte En Los Tacones
Her second album is 'Con la suerte en los tacones', which means 'With the luck in stilettos'. The disk has 14 songs, 5 which have been composed by Cristie. The style is very fresh, with use of such genres as Soul, R&B, Salsa, Funky, Ballad, and of course, flamenco. Cristie said: "With this new album I want to express myself as I am, without feeling pressured to be who I'm not".
Marbella Videoclip
The first single is called Marbella. One of the more luxurious 'beaches' of Marbella, the Ocean Club, was converted into a massive film set for the filming of the videoclip.