​Emelina Medina Martínez was born in 2001 in Medellín, Colombia. She began her vocal training in Colombia with Claudia Angel before moving to Germany in 2018 to continue her studies at the Clara Schumann Music School in Düsseldorf. There, she worked with Rainer Templin, further developing her vocal technique and stage presence. In 2019, she began studying with Sophia Bart, lecturer at the Robert Schumann University of Music, who continued to guide her artistic growth.

Since 2020, Medina Martínez has been enrolled at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Cologne University of Music and Dance), where she studies in the class of Professor Kai Wessel. She recently completed her bachelor’s degree and will begin her master’s studies in October 2025. In 2021, she participated in a masterclass with Professor Uta Schwabe in Vienna.

Her talent was recognized in 2023 when she was awarded the Horst & Gretl  Will Foundation Scholarship, a prestigious grant awarded in collaboration with the City of Cologne to outstanding young musicians in the fields of music, singing, and conducting.

Medina Martínez has been featured in a number of staged opera productions. In 2023, she performed the role of Wondraczek in the contemporary opera "Amok" by Marc Vogler, a production of HfMT Köln. In the same year, she sang the Baroque roles of Amorino and Aulo Cinna in Antonio Cesti’s "Il Tito". In October 2024, she took on the role of Jordan Baker in the new opera "Gatsby", also by Marc Vogler.

In February 2024, she participated in the International Masterclass of Festival Vocallis, working with Tobias Krampen and Sybilla Rubens. She was awarded Second Prize, together with her duo partner, pianist Keonju Lee, which included an invitation to perform at the Laureates Concert on October 18, 2024, at De Kopermolen in Vaals, the Netherlands.

In 2025, Emelina Medina Martinez performed the role of the Princess in Xavier Montsalvatge’s "Puss in Boots" ("Der gestiefelte Kater"), a co-production between HfMT Köln and the Aachen Opera.