Carnegie Hall kicked off the week-long Paco de Lucía Legacy Festival on Tuesday with a concert featuring 33 artists honoring the life of the world’s most celebrated flamenco artist.
Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez in Southern Spain in 1947, died ten years ago at age 66, and the music and legacy of the Latin Grammy Award winner for best Flamenco Album undeniably inspired a new generation of musicians.
De Lucía, who Carlos Santana described as a musical genius, was one of the first flamenco artists who fused the genre that originated in Andalusia, Spain, with other music genres like traditional classical music and jazz.
At the pre-concert cocktail hour, his brother Pepe de Lucía, a flamenco singer, told amNewYork Metro with the aid of a translator that he performed with José Greco on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 60s. All he could think of was that his younger brother, Paco, should be there with him on stage. He finally convinced Greco to give his brother a shot, and Paco de Lucía began touring with José Greco’s flamenco company.
“The rest is history,” Pepe de Lucía said. “I’m very happy that my brother is regarded today as the best guitar player ever.”
De Lucia’s widow, Gabriela Canseco, shared that the festival made her realize how important her husband’s work was.
“So being here ten years later makes us understand how important Paco’s music is to every single musician around the world,” Canseco said.
Their daughter Antonia Sanchez added that her dad would probably make fun of all the attention surrounding his legacy.
“[Paco de Lucía] would always make fun of himself, in a good way,” Sanchez added. “He didn’t take him seriously. He joked a lot about everything. So he joked about himself, too. He was really humble; that was his main character trade.”
Spanish Consul General Caridad Batalla Junco was a teenager when she first heard Paco de Lucía’s music.
“I started crying,” Batalla Junco said. “I’m really glad that the [Paco de Lucía Foundation] is keeping on the legacy of Paco de Lucía. Given it’s the 10th anniversary [of his death], I couldn’t be more grateful that they let us participate; we really cooperated with them, and it’s been great.”
De Lucía’s daughter Casilada Sanchez shared that her father’s main goal was to elevate flamenco into the same category as jazz and salsa.
“He was looking to give a place to flamenco music,” Sanchez said. “So for him, for us, and for his memory, being here today with all these people in New York and having flamenco music here at such an amazing event. It is really touching for all of us and for Spanish culture.”
Paco de Lucía’s son Curro Sánchez was close to finishing the biographical documentary “Paco de Lucía: A Journey” about his dad’s life when Paco de Lucía unexpectedly passed away.
The documentary, which will be shown at Quad Cinema on Feb. 24 at 4 pm, won the Goya Award for Best Documentary in 2015, and Sánchez told amNewYork Metro that at the time, he couldn’t enjoy the award because he was sad, still mourning his father’s death.
“I was overwhelmed by the whole situation. I was super full of anguish,” Sánchez said.
Now, ten years later, Sánchez described the festival as a celebration of his dad’s life, enjoying all the musicians who belong to the “big family of Flamenco.”
“This is a way to celebrate the memory of my father and his legacy, his music, being cheerful, being surrounded by friends, being surrounded by people just to enjoy his music, enjoy his art,” Sánchez said.
The event at Carnegie Hall kicked off five days of celebration. For more information about upcoming events celebrating the life of Paco de Lucía, visit Queen Sofia Spanish Institute.
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