Yurena

María del Mar Cuena Seisdedos (born 11 December 1969 in Baracaldo), known under the stage names Tamara (1990–2004), Ámbar (2004–2005) and then Yurena (from 2005) is a Spanish pop singer. Her early career was marred by controversy, but after a five-year hiatus from the music industry while she operated a club, she launched a successful comeback. Her music was introduced to China in 2014.

Biography

She was born in Barakaldo, Vizcaya, Spain. Daughter of Floreal Cuena Ruiz (b. 1936) and Margarita Seisdedos Santos (1928–2019). She began singing in 1990 under the vocal coach Concha Jimenez, with whom she studied for three years in Las Arenas. She prepared a repertoire of ten familiar songs and began performing under the name of "Tamara" at local theaters and pubs, debuting at the Libredon in Portugalete in July 1991.

In 1993 Tamara recorded her first album with songs composed exclusively for her by Northern Studies of Portugalete, including "A por ti" which became a number 1 song years later. She started touring the country and appearing at several radio stations to promote the album. After years of traveling the country, in 1998, she settled in Madrid and met singers Tony Genil and Leonardo Dantés, forming a trio which appeared on various television shows. Finally in 2000 she landed a small part in Crónicas marcianas by Javier Sardà, which was the number one late night television show in Spain. She made tabloid headlines when she claimed to be pregnant by the seer Paco Porras, but the controversy brought her regular appearances on Crónicas marcianas.