Meet Amaya Santos | Singer/ Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amaya Santos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amaya, why did you pursue a creative career?
I pursued an artistic career because I truly love and enjoy creating music. I have been singing since I was a child but I was always a bit shy (still am) and so growing up I feel like I let my shyness and insecurities stop me from following my dreams. During the pandemic, it felt like the whole world was on hold and it was the one thing that I could think of. I felt like it was the one thing I regret not doing and so i decided to do it, to create music and follow my dreams.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think my music doesn’t necessarily fit into a box or just one genre. I love blending different sounds and different elements from hip hop, jazz, pop, Caribbean music, electronic music and really making it my own. I think my music is an interpretation of my roots and who I am.

Being a musician is actually harder than I thought it would be. I love to sing and I love writing my on music, being in the studio and experimenting; that’s the easy part. Being a musician in 2023 is a lot more than that, you have to learn how to market yourself, be your own PR team, create content, learn how to be your own engineer, plan your own shoots, be your own booking manager and so many other things that are often changing. I love making music and I do it because I love it but I understand that its also my job to make sure its heard. There are 1,000s of emails sent to magazines, blogs, groups on Instagram, editors for playlist or anyone with a playlist, radios and it can be frustrating when you don’t get a response. At first this was a challenge for me because I spent so much time on my music and on making a plan to promote it. I would become extremely upset because I wanted people to hear it. It made me learn to be patient but also to realize that I’m making the music because I want to and that the #s didn’t matter, they would come as long as I just kept going.

What I’m most proud of is probably just doing it, pursuing my dream. I thing starting is always a scary, big step and I didn’t know if I was strong enough to push my fears aside and to go for it but I’m so glad that I did. I would want the world but specially young girls to take that away from my story, to be dreamers and to know that the things you love are worth pursuing even if they seem hard or impossible. While I will say that being an artist hasn’t been easy, every time I get on a stage and connect with people, it makes it all worth it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Although i’m currently spending a very cold month in NY, I grew up in south Florida. I was there recently visiting my family and so I will share what my itinerary was during my trip!

If you are closer to Miami I would recommend a stop at Imperial Moto. It’s one of my go to’s for coffee, its a beautiful, cool coffee shop that looks like a bike shop. I am obsessed with their mushroom and cheese empanada and the coffee there is incredible. I stopped here almost every day for a coffee pick me up.

I visited my brother and stopped by Ella Cafe in plantation for lunch, the place is such a cute cozy place to sit and catch up with friends. I love their Italian sandwich and their salads are equally as delicious!

Since I grew up in Ft Lauderdale, I love to go to Ft Lauderdale beach and just take in the sun. There are so many cute restaurants along the beach and its always nice to relax and enjoy the sunset there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would shout out my family and friends who really believed in me and supported my vision. I also would say my videographer/ photographer, George. I came to him with my first release and we have been working together since. He really believed in my ideas and my vision and continues to push me with every project we work on. Also all of the producers and musicians I have been fortunate to collaborate with, they have also trusted my ideas and I’m so proud of the music we have created!

Website: https://amayasantos.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamamayasantos/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamAmayaSantos

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamAmayaSantos

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@amayasantos

Image Credits
George Levin