Eva Ayllón Biography: Husband, Album, Ethnicity, Voice, Net Worth, Children, Age, Height, Religion

María Angélica Ayllón Urbina, widely known as Eva Ayllón, is Peru’s most celebrated and enduring voice of Afro-Peruvian music.

For more than five decades, she has championed música criolla and coastal genres such as landó, festejo, vals peruano, and zamacueca, bringing them from the margins to global recognition.

Profile

• Full Name: María Angélica Ayllón Urbina
• Stage Name: Eva Ayllón
• Born: 6, February 1956
• Age: 69 years old
• Birthplace: Lima, Peru
• Nationality: Peruvian
• Occupation: Singer, Composer, Music Producer, Cultural Activist
• Height: 1.65 m
• Parents: José Ayllón and Ana María Urbina de Ayllón
• Siblings: 6
• Spouse: José Bolaños (m. 1976–1989)
• Partner: Álvaro Torres (ex)
• Children: Francisco Bolaños Ayllón and Álvaro José Torres Ayllón
• Relationship: Divorced
• Net Worth: $4 million

Early Life and Education

María Angélica Ayllón Urbina was born on February 6, 1956, in Barranco, Lima, into a large Afro-Peruvian family. Her father, José Ayllón, was a musician and dockworker, while her mother, Ana Urbina, cared for seven children and ran a small pension.

Eva grew up immersed in décimas, landós, and valses played at family gatherings, began singing in neighborhood peñas at age three, and won her first radio contest at eight.

She attended public schools in Lima and briefly studied secretarial work before committing fully to music. Of African, Indigenous, and Spanish descent, she was raised Catholic and remains proudly Afro-Peruvian.

Career

Eva Ayllón made her professional debut at 16 in 1972 with the group Los Kipus, replacing the legendary Chabuca Granda as lead singer for several seasons.

Within a year she joined the groundbreaking ensemble Los Hijos del Sol, the first group to fuse traditional Afro-Peruvian cajón and quijada de pecho with modern arrangements, giving her a platform to showcase the full range of her voice on albums such as Este es mi Perú (1975) and Una sola fuerza (1977).

By the late 1970s she had launched her solo career with the landmark album Esta noche (1979), produced by Chabuca Granda herself.

The 1980s and 1990s turned her into a national icon. Albums like Al ritmo de mi corazón (1983), Eva ¡Siempre Eva! (1987), and Gracias a la vida (1993) went gold and platinum in Peru, while her live performances at the Teatro Municipal de Lima and international festivals earned standing ovations.

She toured Japan, Europe, and the United States repeatedly, collaborated with giants such as Susana Baca, Marc Anthony, Gilberto Gil, and Armando Manzanero, and in 2005 recorded the Grammy-nominated Eva + Inti-Illimani Histórico. Her 2009 album Canta a Chabuca Granda and 2017’s Clavo y Canela (celebrating 45 years) reaffirmed her dominance.

Eva Ayllón remains an unstoppable force. She continues to sell out theaters across Latin America and the U.S., mentors young Afro-Peruvian artists through her cultural foundation, and serves as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Afro-descendant culture.

Her voice—richer and more expressive with age—has become Peru’s living soundtrack, and her tireless defense of Black Peruvian identity has earned her the Orden del Sol del Perú, the country’s highest civilian honor.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @evaayllonoficial
• Facebook: Eva Ayllón Oficial
• Twitter Handle: @evaayllon

Personal Life

Eva Ayllón married manager José Bolaños in 1976; they had one son, Francisco, before divorcing in 1989. She later had a long relationship with Bolivian singer Álvaro Torres, with whom she had her second son, Álvaro José.

She has been single since 2010 and lives between Lima and Miami. A devoted grandmother of four times over, she is known for her warmth, her love of cooking traditional anticuchos and ceviche, and her outspoken pride in her Afro-Peruvian roots.

Discography

• Esta noche (1979)
• Al ritmo de mi corazón (1983)
• Eva ¡Siempre Eva! (1987)
• Gracias a la vida (1993)
• Ritmo negro del Perú (1997)
• Obsesión (2002)
• Eva + Inti-Illimani Histórico (2005)
• Canta a Chabuca Granda (2009)
• 45 años, 45 éxitos (2014)
• Clavo y Canela (2017)
• En vivo desde Miami (2023)

Net Worth

Eva Ayllón has an estimated net worth of about $4 million. Her income comes from decades of concert tours, royalties from more than 30 albums, television appearances, local brand endorsements, and revenue generated through her production company and cultural foundation.