Cecilia Villar Eljuri
“My greatest passion is songwriting. I feel empowered to testify about life today, in our world. I consider myself a conduit to the voices of those I encounter when I travel and tour internationally. My music mirrors the things that resonate in my soul.” –Cecilia Villar Eljuri
“Cecilia Villar Eljuri is a triple threat: She's an accomplished songwriter, a great vocalist, and one hell of a guitar player.” –NPR MUSIC
ELJURI LIVE Festival Highlights:
> Lancaster Music Festival 2023 (headliner) (UK)
> Conincx Pop Festival 2023
> Sanctuary for Independent Media 2023 (US)
> Musikfest 2022-19 (US)
> Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Summer Concert Series 2022 (headliner)/2020 (US)
> LadyBug Music Festival 2022 (headliner)/2020 (US)
> River & Blues Festival 2022 (US)
> Mamapalooza 2022 (headliner) (US)
> Interludes at IHM, Battery Park City Authority 2020 (US)
> Spirit of the Suffragettes Concert Series 2019 (US)
> Festival Internacional Quimera 2019 (MX)
> Canadian Music Week 2018 (CA)
> Women’s March on NYC 2018-17 (US)
> Kultrún World Music Festival 2017 (CA)
> Summer on the Hudson 2017/2016 (US)
> Día Internacional de la Mujer 2017 (MX)
Cecilia Villar Eljuri is a Latina singer-songwriter with a powerful fusion of rock, reggae and world rhythms, soaring guitars and relevant lyrics (Manu Chao and Bob Marley meet Carlos Santana).
Eljuri’s musical influences include the traditional Ecuadorian pasillos and boleros that her mother composed at the piano at home, the cha-cha and Afro-Cuban music her father played and danced to, the punk and rock & roll she heard when sneaking into NYC clubs with her siblings, and the reggae she learned from the greats who passed through the halls she frequented. Over time Eljuri has developed her own voice and distinctive sound. Strong melodic and guitar driven anthems and rebel cries are her standard. She is an artivist whose bilingual songs are stories about resilience, resistance, civil rights, and saving the planet.
Communities are craving a strong woman leader as an example and the power that Eljuri generates on stage is undeniable. Eljuri is one of the top Latina guitar players in the world; a Billboard, John Lennon, UK and International songwriting award winner; a ‘Music to Life’ juried artist; a mentor for ‘SoundThinking’ the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the City University of NY’s program for NYC public high school students; and one of the original organizers of the Women’s March on NYC.
A revered instrumentalist and ‘Rockstar Humanitarian,’ Eljuri is a musical ambassador for Immigrant and Women’s Rights. She regularly tours internationally with her NYC based power trio. Eljuri has released five critically acclaimed solo albums. Her songs consistently appear in the Top Ten on independent, college, worldbeat and Latin radio in the US, Canada and Mexico. In-depth interviews about her career have been featured on PRI, NPR, Voice of America, NBC Latino, La Jornada, Revista Kuadro, Pacifica Radio, the Women of Rock Documentary.
Eljuri proudly endorses Gibson Guitars, D’Angelico Guitars, JH Audio Custom In-Ear Monitors, Mono Cases, Moody Guitar Straps and S.I.T. Strings.
