Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía dies at 66

Paco_de_Lucia_in_1972

Very sad news via the BBC. I remember as a kid taking classical guitar lessons and hearing “Friday Night in San Francisco”  thinking, hey there are rock stars in the nylon world after all. I later saw him live in a more flamenco setting and was in awe of his natural delivery, chops, and rhythm…

Unfortunately, we are likely to see a lot more of the greats from the guitar bubble of the 70’s pass away…see them and appreciate them whenever you get the chance. Sad stuff.

World-renowned Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia has died aged 66 in Mexico, reportedly of a heart attack while playing with his children on a beach. The death of one of the most celebrated flamenco guitarists was announced by the mayor’s office in Algeciras, southern Spain, where he was born. Famous for a series of flamenco albums in the 1970s, he also crossed over into classical and jazz guitar. He also worked on films by Spanish director Carlos Saura, notably appearing in his 1983 version of Carmen, which won a UK Bafta award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985. Algeciras is to hold two days of official mourning. Its mayor, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, called the musician’s death an “irreparable loss for the world of culture and for Andalusia”.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE via BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26351251

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Bradford Werner
Bradford Werner

Bradford Werner is a classical guitarist and music publisher from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He originally created this site for his students at the Victoria Conservatory of Music but now shares content worldwide. Curating guitar content helps students absorb the culture, musical ideas, and technique of the classical guitar. Bradford also has a YouTube channel with over 94,000 subscribers and 13 million views. He taught classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for 16 years and freelanced in Greater Victoria for 20 years and now dedicates much of his time curating content online and helping connect the classical guitar community. See more at his personal website.

3 Comments

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  1. Que lastima! I will be 66 next year. I will carry a spare set of strings with me at all times, in case you need them, Paco.

  2. don’t tend to have heroes but Paco was truly one of the great inspirations in my life. Not only a phenomenal player, but a great innovator who moved Flamenco forward without severing its roots, as well as writing some great tunes. RIP Paco

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