Marija Temo has a rare gift. She’s one of the few women in the U.S., and some might say the world, who can sing, dance, and play guitar in the flamenco genre.
Temo’s passion started at the age of 6 with the nudging of her mother. She grew up in Akron, Ohio, hardly the epicenter for learning the art of flamenco. Still, the opportunities kept coming her way, and she took advantage of all of them.
“There was a professional flamenco dance teacher five houses down. I was in a suburban area,” said Temo.
“I remember my mom asking me, ‘Marija, do you want to take a flamenco class?’ And I said, ‘Sure.’ ”
Her passion took off like wildfire from there.
“There was something about it that just spoke (to me), at a very young age,” Temo said.
“From there my life went into playing guitar, and then we found a flamenco guitar teacher about an hour north in Cleveland. My dad would take me there on Saturdays, and we’d get chocolate ice cream afterwards.”
Temo reminisces about the beginning of her musical journey.
There were plenty of good memories, but of course no path is unscathed. There were challenges and people who would put roadblocks in her way.
That didn’t stop Temo though. It made her work harder to become a world-class artist. She has her home base at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee.
Hear more of Temo’s story by clicking on the audio and video above.