Paco de Lucia

Paco de Lucía, aka Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gomes, was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer and producer who passed away at the age of 66 due to a heart attack while on vacation with his family in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. He is known for being one of the most famous cross-over flamenco guitarists in the world. His father, Antonio Sanchez, was also a flamenco guitarist. Born 1947 in Algeciras, de Lucia's father introduced his son Paco to the guitar at the age of five and insisted he practice twelve hours a day to find success as a musician. At age 11, in 1958, he made his first appearance on Radio Algeciras and a year later at age 12 won a special prize at a flamenco competition. In 1961, at the age of 14, de Lucia made his first record with his brother Pepe entitled “Los Chiquitos de Algeciras” (Kids of Algeciras). By 1972, his release "El duende flamenco de Paco de Lucía" was considered a groundbreaking album in the flamenco community but he became famous after recording the best-selling alb