Francisco Sánchez Gómez, known as Paco de Lucia (Algeciras, Cádiz,
España, 1947 - Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, México, 2014), started
playing guitar at the age of seven and at
just fourteen recorded his first album alongside his brother Pepe, in
the duo Los Chiquitos de Algeciras. In 1963 he toured abroad
with Jose Greco’ company, recording his first solo album, The Fabulous
Guitar of Paco de Lucia, the following year. However, it was Camarón de
la Isla with whom he would form one of the 20th century’s
most important duos.
Paco de Lucía revolutionized Flamenco guitar
playing and accompaniment by bringing novel chords and rhythmic
counterpoint to his musical expression. His creative genius and mastery
of the instrument has led to Flamenco entering into a dialogue with the
classical music of Falla, Rodrigo and Albéniz, with the bossa nova and
jazz of Chick Corea and John McLaughlan, among other styles. His “Friday
Night in San Francisco” album sold over a million copies, a figure that
was undreamt-of for a Flamenco artist. He formed his famous Sextet in
1981, thereby creating the modern-day concept of the Flamenco group. His
numerous recording projects include Flamenco Fantasy (1969), Guitar
Recital (1971), El duende flamenco de Paco de Lucía (1972), Fuente y caudal (1973), Almoraima (1976), Solo quiero caminar
(1981), Paco de Lucia in Moscow (1986) and Luzia (1998), among
others. He has also composed and performed music for films like La Sabina, The Hit, Carmen, Montoyas y Tarantos and Sevillanas. After five years of silence as a composer, in 2004 he presented Cositas buenas,
a work acclaimed by critics as a “masterpiece”. Four books have been
published on his life and work, one written by Paco de Lucia himself.
He received many awards including the National Prize for Flamenco
Guitar, the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (1992) and an Honorary
Distinction from the Music Awards (2002). He holds honorary doctorates
from both the University of Cádiz and Berklee College of Music, Boston.
Paco de Lucía died on February 26, 2014.