Francisco Gomez "Paco de Lucía" born in Algeciras in 1947, Premio Principe de Asturias 2004, is maybe the most universal of all the flamenco´s.

His father was a tocaor, ( a flamenco guitarist) that was never invloved in the professional world.When Paco de Lucia was 13 years old he started performing with the dance company of José Greco backing up the "cante"( vocals) and the "baile" ( dancers).

En 1961 Paco de Lucia met Camarón, and as he has stated he fell in love with this artist for ever. Paco remebers this period as the most beautiful of his life. Very often, when on tour, thay would play all night , compose during days on end, recordings albums that today are lsitened to more than ever. Paco de Lucía has always admired Camarón de la Isla more than anybody else since he represented the ideal that he would have wanted to be.

Paco de Lucia has always confessed to be to shy to sing, and as he states, he prefers to sing than to play the guitar

At the begining of the 60's his art had been applauded around the globe. He then had a style pefectly defined, but after his first stage with Nino Ricardo and his second period with Sabicas, Mario Escudero and others he was ready for his historical debut. In 1975 a concert in the Teatro Real of Madrid marked the birth of the myth as the flamenco guitarist. You may listen to this concert in the album: "Paco de Lucia, en vivo desde el teatro real".

His constant innovations have always been eyed suspiscously by the most orthodox of flamenco critics. He has very often been the authentic revolution of the flamenco world.

Especially interesting has been his work with other styles of music that not only have enrichened his art but have significantly also influenced the present flamenco world. He assumes that no matter what he plays he will never be able to loose his flamenco identity and that precisley in such lies his power as the performer.

Paco de Lucia has not studied music in a traditional manner, all that he has learnt has been on his own and has done a much better job of learning than scholars that have spent all their lives trying to learn.