Paco de Lucia, one of the greatest living guitarist in the world, was born Francisco Sanchez Gomez in Algeciras, a city in the province of Cadiz, in the Southernmost tip of Spain on December 21st, 1947. His stage name is an homage to his mother Lucia Gomez.
His father, Antonio Sanchez, a day laborer, played guitar at night as a way to supplement his income. He, Paco's elder brother Ramon de Algeciras and flamenco master Ni–o Ricardo were de Lucia's main influences. His first performance was on Radio Algeciras in 1958. The brothers Ramon, Pepe (a singer) and Paco now compromise half of the Paco de Lucia sextet.
The training ground for a flamenco guitarist, de Lucia once said, "is the music around you, made by people you see, the people you make music with. You learn it from your family, from your friends, in la juerga (the party) drinking. And then you work on technique. Guitarists do not need to study. And, as it is with any music, the great ones will spend some time working with the young players who show special talent. You must understand that a Gypsy's life is a life of anarchy. That is a reason why the way of flamenco music is a way without discipline as you know it. We don't try to organize things with our minds, we don't go to school to find out. We just live…….. music is everywhere in our lives."
The origins of the word flamenco are somewhat in dispute. Some argue that the word refers to the Flemish people who arrived in Spain in the 16th Century and once meant simply foreigner or non-Spanish. Others suggest that the word derives from the Arabic phrase "felah mengu," meaning pleasant in flight.
What is indisputable is that flamenco is a blend of the many cultures - Gypsy, Muslim, Jewish - that at one time settled in Andalucia, in the South of Spain. Their influences can be heard distinctively in the melisma of the singer, the rhythms, the slowly curling harmonic lines of the guitars.
Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez (in Algeciras, Cádiz on December 21, 1947), is a Spanish composer and guitarist. Recognized as a virtuoso flamenco guitarist all over the world, he is a leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco style, and is one of the very few flamenco guitarists who has also successfully crossed over into other genres of music. He enjoys, and has been a successful musician in, many styles such as classical, jazz and world music. He is the winner of the 2004 Prince of Asturias Awards in Arts and 2010 was awarded an honorary doctorate by Berklee College of Music in Boston