The greatest composers for the guitar still live in Spain…

This July, I was waiting to get into a flamenco festival in the town of Alcala de la Guadaira for about three hours with a friend of mine from Holland. The police said that there wasn’t enough room for the 100 or so extra people without tickets waiting outside the tiny entrance to the castle where the festival would take place. I started to become overcome with fear as well as curiosity as the crowd of old as well as young townspeople began threatening the local police without the slightest fear of being arrested. This festival would present some of the finest flamenco musicians in Spain and no one was about to miss such an event even if it meant using threats. After about two hours of waiting, Peter and I decided to take a stroll toward the outdoor bar where we could still hear Aurora Vargas and El Cabrero singing accompanied by the finest guitarists. When we returned one of the men, who was somehow connected with the concert, told us that if we waited a few more minutes they would let us in for free. By this time the crowd outside the tiny entrance had dwindled to about 25 people. So we waited and finally we were permitted inside the ruins of the castle. Typically, flamenco festivals last about four or five hours. We worked our way through the crowd of about 2000-3000 aficionados toward the stage just in time to see the magical playing and passionate gypsy singing of Moraito Chico and Jose Merce. Together, they had the crowd in the palms of their hands. Moraito is among the "newer" generation of flamenco virtuosos. His sense of rhythm and musicality adds new dimensions to the art of accompaniment. Moraito and his other compatriots of the flamenco guitar are not mere accompanists, but rather composers in their own right. Certainly they are following in the path created by the flamenco soloists of this century (Ramon Montoya, Nino Ricardo, Sabicas, Paco de Lucia) as well as contributing to this heritage with their own musical expressions. What is so exciting to see, is that there are so many phenomenal players in Spain. Generally speaking, many guitarists begin by accompanying singers and dancers borrowing falsetas from the masters and eventually adding their own. Some, if they chose, will form their own groups and perform their own music. Just like with the classical guitar, the flamenco guitar has evolved dramatically in the past 20 years. This is due mainly to the influence of Paco de Lucia, Tomatito, and Manolo Sanlucar. The music that is being created is full of punctuated rhythms, delicious melodies, as well as a blend of eastern and western harmonies. I consider this movement to be the new renaissance of the guitar and it is happening in the country which most of us think of when we speak of the guitar. Permit me to drop a few names of some of the guitarists that I truly enjoy listening to: Paco de Lucia, Tomatito, Manolo Sanlucar, Moraito Chico, Vicente Amigo, Paco Serrano, Rafael Riqueni, Quique Paredes, etc. There are many others who are equally great. Do yourselves a favor and expand your listening horizons-you won’t regret it.

Dennis Aberle

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