BIOGRAPHY

Her face is golden, soft as a flower petal. But behind the angelic appearance lies a true maestro leading a band that has rhythm in its blood. Melanie Fowler, who goes by the name Athenea, was blessed with all the artistic gifts life has to offer. She’s a singer, composer, musician and dancer, among many other creative talents. As a child, she was already mingling with leading figures of the Cuban music scene including Buena Fe and Luis Carbonell.  In 2016, at the age of 18, this young Havana native left her island for Montreal, which opened up a whole new world of possibilities. After dabbling in fashion and design, she returned to her first love, devoting herself to the piano and percussive arts. And as such she has become a shining star. 

The Montreal music circuit has no secrets from this Cuban warrioress. Athenea and Ricardo Soriano, her partner on and off the stage, invited some fabulous musicians to form the group Q’bolà Orchestra, which soon became a sensation at clubs up and down the Main, the most vibrant section of Montreal’s Boulevard Saint-Laurent! Get ready for more sensational moments at this year’s Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, where you will hear the call of a mermaid proclaim her love for a Cuban queen in “Marta Valdés,” one of the singer’s favourites. Swaying between the melancholy of feeling uprooted and an explosion of rhythms, including swinging cumbia, this artist shows the world her profound freedom of expression.