It took a while for Marcela Pinilla to realize singing was her passion.

A native of Bogota, Colombia, Pinilla, 27, auditioned and was chosen to sing a song with Tuna, a traditional Spanish band, when she was in the fourth grade.

But, she said, “I didn’t want to be a singer. That was not my dream.”

Photo by Michael Donahue

Marcela Pinilla and her husband, Matt Farr.

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She wanted to be a gymnast. But, she said, “I was no good at it. I couldn’t touch my toes.”

After another audition, Pinilla, who was 13 at the time, recorded a song for a TV show called “Dream Machine.” That led to a job singing with a band. “Eternal Flame” which she sang in English, was a hit song. She didn’t understand the words because she couldn’t speak English.

Pinilla began performing in Malaysia, Indonesia and China. She sang with a rock band featuring Canadian singer Leon Durupt in China. But she felt she wasn’t getting anywhere with her music, so she studied business in school and landed a job with the Colombian embassy. “I didn’t like it. I saw so many things I didn’t want to see. Like how people just stab some people. I said, ‘Well, I’m a singer. Who am I kidding?’ That is where I fell in love with it. I said, ‘This is what I want to do. And I’m gonna go for it.’”

She also fell in love with Matt Farr, a Memphian who was working in China. They met in a Chinese class. “We hated each other,” Farr said. “This sassy little Colombian singer. She thinks she’s hot to trot.”

“He just had an arrogant air,” Pinilla said.

Their relationship soon changed. “We had sushi,” Farr said. “I knew that no girl turns down sushi.”

They were married in a jungle nature park in Singapore. “I was wearing my rainbow flip-flops,” Farr said. “Monkeys were our congregation.”

Pinilla wanted to move to the United States to pursue her career.

“I said, ‘You know, I’m from Memphis. We have some of the richest musical heritage anywhere. And there’s not a whole lot of people doing what you do there. It’s prime real estate for accomplishing what we’re setting out to do,’ ” said Farr, who now is with Outdoors Inc.

Pinilla admitted Memphis was a culture shock, but she liked the energy. “I feel this creative buzz going on,” she said. “When I arrived, I couldn’t stop writing songs. I was just in the mood.”

Listen Up spotlights area performers. Michael Donahue can be reached at 529-2797.

Marcela with Orquesta Caliente

7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park. Free.