Petrona Martínez is one of the most authentic Afro-American voices of the Caribbean. She possesses a vibrantly colorful voice and an innate passion for rhythm. Hailing from Colombia, Petrona is the heiress to a long tradition of bullerengue singers including her mother, grandmother and aunts.

Bullerengue is an Afro-Colombian dance rhythm originating in the small towns of Bolívar and Córdoba counties in Colombia. It was conceived as songs to be sung only by pregnant women who were confined to their homes, unable to attend the youthful village dances. Petrona learned the melodies by listening to her great-grandmother and grandmother as they sang during their daily tasks and at patron saints festivities. All of Petrona's songs are original compositions and each one of them contains some part of her life, difficult and trying, but at the same time full of magic.

In 1999 the 62 year-old singer released "Le Bullerengue" in France. Petrona Martinez became a huge hit on the European festival circuit with her fresh and uninhibited style and highly percussive sound. In 2002 the disk was released in the U.S. as "Bonito Que Canta" and was nominated for a Latin GRAMMY Award.