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World-famous Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucía has passed away

26 February 2014
2 minute read

Paco de Lucía, the phenomenal Spanish guitarist, passed away in Mexico yesterday at the age of 66. The news was announced by the artist’s family and local officials in his native town of Algeciras in Andalusia. 

The world-famous flamenco player died of a heart attack on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. The guitarist had reportedly taken a walk on the beach in the Mexican resort of Cancún with his children when he began to feel unwell.

Mr de Lucía died en route to the hospital. "He lived as he wanted and he died playing with his children by the seaside," Agence France-Presse reported the artist’s family as saying.  

Paco de Lucía was one of the most outstanding representatives of flamenco in the world, receiving many international and Spanish prizes for his performances. He made many excellent recordings, including collaborations with pianist Chick Corea or guitarist Larry Coryell.  

Mr de Lucía’s concert collaborations with guitar greats Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin, as well as his live albums, are considered by experts to be some of the peak instrumental experiences of the 21st century. The artist, who was born Francisco Sánchez Gómez, visited the Czech Republic several times during his numerous concert tours of the world.

The guitarist last appeared in the Czech Republic at the flamenco festival in Olomouc last July. His native city of Algeciras in southern Spain, where he began to dedicate himself to the guitar as a young child under his father’s tutelage, is flying its flags at half-mast today to commemorate his death and has announced a three-day period of mourning.   

"This is a blow that it will take our town a long time to recover from… The death of Paco de Lucía has transformed his genius into a legend. His legacy will remain with us forever," declared Mayor José Ignacio Landaluce, whose condolences were followed by those of Spanish politicians and artists from around the world.  

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