Paco de Lucía: A Brilliant Flamenco Guitarist!

Paco de Lucía was born in Spain on December 21, 1947.  He is a famous flamenco guitarist believed to be, perhaps, the most important icon of the Flamenco style.  Actually, Paco de Lucía’s aptitude is inherited from his father Antonio Sánchez, who was also a flamenco guitarist.  Nonetheless, this talent is a family matter since he is brother of the flamenco guitarist Ramón de Algeciras and Pepe de Lucía, a flamenco singer.  Another reason why he is so popular lies in the fact that Paco de Lucía is one of the very few flamenco guitarists that are able to perform in other genres, including classical, world and jazz music.

Paco de Lucía’s real name is Francisco Sánchez Gómez.  One interesting fact about Paco de Lucía is that he chose this name in honor to his mother called Lucía Gómez. When he was 11, Paco appeared on Radio Algeciras for the first time.  In 1959, de Lucía was given a prize in the Jerez flamenco competition.  Between the years 1968 and 1977, he worked in conjunction with Camarón de la Isla, a New Flamenco innovator.  At this stage, they recorded an amount of 10 albums.

Paco de Lucía is famous due to several reasons.  One of them lies in the ability he has to play 16th note triplets at 180 beats per minute (bpm).  It is impressive that he can do it in a not only fast, but also accurate way.  In addition, he is known as the master of rasqueados y picados.  Thirdly, he won the 2004 Prince of Asturias Awards in Arts.  Furthermore, Paco de Lucia relies on a really extensive list of albums.  The latest ones are The Guitar Trio (1996), Luzia (1998) and Cositas Buenas, which was released two years ago.  Hence, Paco de Lucía will be categorized as the guitarist playing his composition in the most brilliant manner ever.