Carlos García Montoya (13 December 19033 March 1993) born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, was a prominent

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

guitarist and a founder of the modern-day popular flamenco style of music.

Early life

He was the nephew of renowned flamenco guitarist Ramón Montoya. He first learned from his mother, "la Tula", and then from a neighboring barber, Pepe el Barbero, i.e. Pepe the Barber. After one year Montoya had completed what Pepe was able to teach him. Carlos left to learn what he could from other flamenco guitarists of the time. At fourteen he was playing in the "cafes cantantes," in the heyday of flamenco singing and dancing, for such artists as Antonio de Bilbao, Juan el Estampío, La Macarrona and La Camisona in Madrid, Spain.

Career

In the 1920s and 1930s he performed extensively in

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North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and

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with the likes of La Teresina. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

brought him to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where he began his most successful days as a musician, bringing his fiery style to concert halls and universities. He also accompanied orchestras. During this period he made a few recordings for several major and independent labels including

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, Everest and Folkways,Wilkins, Jack. ''The Everything Guitar Book'', Everything Books (2007) pp. 160-161 performing traditional flamenco music such as ''

Farruca ''Farruca'' () is a form of flamenco music developed in the late 19th century. Classified as a cante chico, it is traditionally sung and danced by men. Its origin is traditionally associated with Galicia, a region in northern Spain. An instrumenta ...

''., ''Malaga'' and ''Hokie''. When World War II broke out in Europe in 1939, he was on tour in the United States, and decided to settle in New York City, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. By the end of the war in 1945, his repertoire had broadened to include blues, jazz and folk music. He again toured internationally, and was the first flamenco guitarist to tour the world with symphonies and orchestras, and dominated the field of flamenco in the U.S. During his career he also performed on television and recorded over forty albums, including ''Suite Flamenco'', a concerto he performed with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1966. His performances helped popularize flamenco guitar music worldwide. Montoya is credited with having transformed flamenco guitar music into a separate music style, beyond being a traditional dance accompaniment. He adapted flamenco to other genres of music to create his own recognizable style, becoming an international star. However, his style was not particularly appreciated by some serious flamenco students, who considered it less traditional than many others. That he was unpopular among aficionados was possibly because he abandoned the ''

compás Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

'' that had evolved within flamenco over hundreds of years. Many of his works do not even keep perfect tempo, increasing and decreasing in speed almost whimsically. He was admired for the speed of his picados and found popularity on the international stage as a result of this technically impressive pace.

Death and legacy

Montoya died on 3 March 1993 at the age of 89 of heart failure in

Wainscott, New York Wainscott is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Censu ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. His niece, Rosa Montoya, is noted for introducing flamenco dance to most of California with her studio based in San Francisco.video
"KQED Spark – Rosa Montoya"
KQED TV, February 2005

Discography

Filmography

* ''

Carmen, la de Triana ''Carmen, la de Triana'' (''Carmen, the girl from Triana'') is a 1938 Spanish/ German musical film directed by Florián Rey and starring Imperio Argentina, Rafael Rivelles and Manuel Luna. It was a Spanish-language version of the 1938 film ' ...

'' (1938)

References

External links

Some photos of LP covers
http://library.csun.edu/SCA/Peek-in-the-Stacks/Tanno (Oviatt Library Digital Collections)
Carlos Montoya in the WQXR Recital Studio, May 12, 1951.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montoya, Carlos 20th-century Spanish musicians 1903 births 1993 deaths Musicians from Madrid Romani guitarists Spanish flamenco guitarists Spanish male guitarists Spanish Romani people 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Spanish male musicians Spanish emigrants to the United States