Francisco “Paco” Peña was born in Córdoba (Spain) in 1942. As he turned six years old, his brother taught him how to play the guitar. It would only take him 6 more years to make his first professional appearance.
A brilliant musical career took him from Madrid to London, where he became a soloist in 1960. While in England, he generated so much interest in the British audience (who might have never been acquainted with flamenco) that he soon found himself sharing the stage with artists such as Jimi Hendrix, playing in the Royal Albert Hall, and touring around the US (with performances at NYC’s Carnegie Hall).
Peña is the founder of the world’s first university course on flamenco guitar, at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music.
One of his famous compositions is his Misa Flamenca: a whole flamenco Mass, including a Gloria and renditions of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. You can listen to the whole critic-acclaimed Mass in the link below.
And today we celebrate...