Juan Peña Fernández (8 August 1941 – 13 July 2016), also known as Juan Peña "El Lebrijano" or simply El Lebrijano, was a Spanish Gitano (''Roma'') flamenco musician. As a flamenco-fusion musician he studied the musical relation and fusion of two cultures that coexisted in Spain during the

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...

period.

Biography

Born in Lebrija,

province of Seville The Province of Seville ( es, Sevilla) is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Málaga, Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and ...

, in the context of a family where several members sing

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 a ...

: Fernanda y Bernarda de Utrera, and his mother La Perrata. He began to play

flamenco guitar A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like the classical guitar, but it generally possesses a livelier, more gritty sound compared to the clas ...

as a child, accompanying singers such as La Paquera de Jerez in 1950, but eventually turned to

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 a ...

singing. In 1964, he won the championship at the Competition of Mairena del Alcor, one of the most important Flamenco music festivals. Within years, he was regarded as one of the greatest voices of flamenco. A few years later, in 1970, he started his collaboration with the guitarist Paco de Lucía. His later musical works included

Andalusi The Arabic '' nisbah'' (attributive title) Al-Andalusi denotes an origin from Al-Andalus. Al-Andalusi may refer to: * Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati * Ibn Hazm * Ibn Juzayy * Ibn 'Atiyya * Said Al-Andalusi Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī (); he was Abū al-Qāsim ...

influences, with albums such as ''Casablanca'', ''Open Doors'' and ''Encuentros''. There was also a tribute to his friend

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

. In 1997 the Spanish Ministry of Culture awarded him the Medalla de Oro al Trabajo. Peña died at his home in Seville, Spain on 13 July 2016, aged 75.

References

1941 births 2016 deaths People from Lebrija Flamenco singers Singers from Andalusia Spanish male singers {{spain-guitarist-stub