Carlos Mena was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz and trained at the prestigious Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel with his mentors R. Levitt and R. Jacobs in historical music and opera.

As a soloist, he has sung under the baton of conductors such as Michel Corboz, Paul Goodwin, Mark Minkowsky, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, Ottavio Dantone, Juanjo Mena, Gustav Leonhardt, Christoph Coin, and Andrea Marcon, which has led him to perform at festivals and venues around the world such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Palais de Beaux Arts in Brussels, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg, Philharmonie in Berlin, Suntory Hall and City Opera Hall in Tokyo, Osaka Symphony Hall, Schönberg Hall in Los Angeles, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Concert Hall, Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and many others.

In the realm of opera, he has participated in works such as La Rappresentazione by Cavalieri at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie; Radamisto by Handel at the Felsenreitshule of the Salzburg Festival; Orfeo at the Innsbruck Festwochen and the Staatsoper; Il Trionfo by Handel at the Salzburger Pfingstenfestival; Europera 5 by J. Cage at the Festival of Flanders; at the Barbican Center, he starred in Ascanio in Alba by Mozart and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Britten; at the Teatro Real in Madrid, El viaje a Simorgh by Sánchez-Verdú; Death in Venice by Britten at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and the Passion according to St. John by Bach at the Teatro Arriaga and Chatelet in Paris.

He also has a keen interest in lied and contemporary repertoire, premiering chamber, symphonic, and operatic works composed for him by composers such as José María Sánchez-Verdú, Gabriel Erkoreka, Jesús Torres, and Joan Magrané. He regularly collaborates with composer Alberto Iglesias. Furthermore, he has been an artist in residence at the prestigious BOZAR Festival in Brussels, the National Center for Music Diffusion, and the City Orchestra of Granada. His more than 40 recorded recitals for Mirare, Sony Music, Harmonia Mundi, and IBS have received numerous awards, including the prestigious Diapason D’Or.

In the realm of conducting, he has led orchestras such as the City of Granada, Galicia Symphony, Bilbao Symphony, Principality of Asturias, Navarra Symphony, Córdoba Symphony, RTVE Orchestra, Portugal Symphony, and La Cetra Barockorchestra.

He is a professor of historical singing at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, artistic director of the Choir of the Galicia Symphony, and a member of the jury for the Arts Prize of the Princess of Asturias Foundation.