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This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
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I wouldn't have put Manolo Sanlúcar in the pic, I felt he made his own way,
I remember when Paco began to be the talk of the town. At that time Sanlúcar, though older than Paco, was playing competent, but extremely conventional flamenco. Then, suddenly, it was as if Manolo decided he wanted a part of the action too, and his music became contemporary and innovative, building on what Paco had already done, but following his own path.
Paco was a wake-up call that came at a time when flamenco guitar was languishing.
Moraíto, despite his admiration for Paco, does not belong in the picture...his son Diego, does.
Someone mentioned a metro station dedicated to Paco. I actually think that it is a nice tribute, wherever the station is. I mean, it really does not have to be in the city center. The second thing, if you want to make it in the center you have to rename an existing one, which implies a discussion (which one to rename and why).
Anyhow, the place for Madrid's metro station "Paco de Lucia" is (I think!) chosen to be the station which is under construction, and which is in the same street where Paco lived with his family when he moved to Madrid. This is the rationale behind it.
P.S. I will go in a couple of days to the post office and see about the stamp. Zata, did you already go maybe?
Aslo, maybe a couple of us that live in Spain could do something for those of you abroad, and send you a postcard with the stamp ;)
Moraíto, despite his admiration for Paco, does not belong in the picture...his son Diego, does.
Yeah, I know what you mean, but having played some of Paco's falsetas from the early seventies, and studied the Encuentro video featuring Moraíto I wondered if the influence of Paco is what gave Moraíto some of those influences that mark out his playing from his illustrious uncle and father? Diego for sure is more aligned with the PDL style of the last couple of decades.
this also brings up the question I often have when people say "influenced by PDL" or "sounds like PDL" - I always want to ask "which one?" meaning which era of Paco's music? sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, noughties? He just kept going, didn't he, kept scratching away at the coalface and progressing.
P.S. I will go in a couple of days to the post office and see about the stamp. Zata, did you already go maybe?
I did go to the post office Wednesday, but they knew nothing, and said it could take months. But then this morning the head guy from the office called me (at this point everyone at the post office knows about my involvement with the stamp), I was out for a few hours, but then raced to the post office after getting home. They had just two sheets of 25 stamps each, at 75 cents of a euro per stamp. It's more than regular postage because the stamp is good for the whole European Community, which I like. In my excitement I'd forgotten to bring my credit card, so I could only buy one sheet. The guy said a man had stopped by (probably Norman) asked about the stamp, and said he would return Monday. I hope to get the other sheet before he does. But in any case, the P.O. will ask for more as needed.
The stamp won't be sufficient for mailing a postcard or letter to the U.S., but I believe it's good for England (and the rest of Europe). Or maybe people prefer an unused stamp. I'm willing to do whatever anyone requests as long as you cover the cost. The stamp itself, at 75 cents, is about $1.05 U.S. I forgot to ask how much it costs to send a letter to the States (can't remember the last time I mailed a letter). But first let me know if and what anyone wants.
All these little Paco faces looking out at me make me feel a profound sadness...
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this also brings up the question I often have when people say "influenced by PDL" or "sounds like PDL" - I always want to ask "which one?" meaning which era of Paco's music? sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, noughties? He just kept going, didn't he, kept scratching away at the coalface and progressing.
If you take a step back and look at the really big picture, the arrival of Paco was a giant door swinging open. There were additional plateaus, but of relatively insignificant size.
I think the use of jazz harmony is what made the biggest difference. It turned flamenco from an earthy art into a wafting airy one....those chords never quite seem to come in for a landing, but stay hovering above the surface.
I have been to 4 post offices now. Noone knows what I am talking about. So far I have had 3 shoulder shrugs...one attempt to sell me commerative stamps of the spanish royal family and one woman who tried to chat me up when she found out I was a guitarist? How do you get these stamps? Can you order them? The post offices dont seem to be aware of them!
How do you get these stamps? Can you order them? The post offices dont seem to be aware of them!
After the first sheet I bought, I've been having the same problem in Jerez, but today I did some research, and here's how to get the stamps, although through this method you have to buy at least one complete sheet of 25 stamps at 75 eurocents apiece, (18.75 euros per sheet). The complete sheet makes a beautiful item for framing.
Anyhow, these are the instructions I was given:
Send an email to: atcliente.filatelia@correos.com with the following information:
Tell them how many "pliegos" you wish to purchase of the Paco de Lucía stamp. There are also "first day covers" for about a dollar and a half, you can order these from the same people.
-YOUR NAME -MAILING ADDRESS -ID NUMBER (passport or residence) -TELEPHONE NUMBER
In addition to the price of the stamps, they charge 4 euros for mailing unless you are a member of the philatelic group.
They will answer giving you their bank account number to send a transfer. I haven't done this yet, but supposedly there will be no glitch.
and its surreal that you cant simply buy them at the post office??
You can. Until they run out. And they ran out very quickly. There are still plenty of stamps, but they're not being distributed, not sure why, bad organization I think. One oficial I spoke to today to complain about the situation, said there was a large philatelic fair this week, and all the Paco stamps and first day covers went like hotcakes. I the Spanish government underestimates the magnitude of Paco.
If I'd anticipated this situation, I probably wouldn't have given my only complete sheet to Vicente.
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