Álvaro Lafuente Calvo (born 27 August 1997), better known by his stage name Guitarricadelafuente, is a Spanish singer-songwriter, guitarist and musician based in
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
. Lafuente started posting covers on different social media platforms like
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
in 2017 while being unsigned. Those covers attracted a modest number of people at first thanks to their mix of
indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.
The genre has its ...
,
rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
, and
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 ...
music. In April 2018 he released his first original song titled "El Conticinio" which he recorded at home with a ''PlayStation'' microphone. Lafuente continued posting original songs and started a little tour through selected cities in Spain. In June 2019 he collaborated with ''Operación Triunfo'' contestant and fellow friend
Natalia Lacunza
Natalia Lacunza Sanabdón, (born 10 January 1999) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. She first gained national recognition in 2018, placing third in series 10 of the Spanish reality television talent competition ''Operación Triunfo'', behind Alba R ...
on her debut single "Nana Triste" which peaked at number 4 on the
PROMUSICAE chart. After the single's critical and commercial success, Lafuente continued releasing singles independently.
Biography
Guitarricadelafuente was born Álvaro Lafuente Calvo in August 1997 in
Benicàssim
Benicàssim (; es, Benicasim ; ar, بنو قاسم, translit=banū qāsim, or ar, بني قاسم, translit=banī qāsim, label=none, according to numismatic findings) is a municipality and beach resort located in the province of Castelló (p ...
, a small tourist-orientated village in the coast of the
province of Castellón
Castellón (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló) is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea ...
. During his teenage years he spent a lot of time in
Las Cuevas de Cañart, a 70-inhabitant rural town in the hills of the
Sierra de Albarracín, where his grandmother lives. He received his first acoustic guitar on his fifteenth birthday and taught himself how to play it. In 2017 he started posting covers of different Spanish-language songs on his respective social media profiles. That same year he started composing original songs with "El Conticinio" being the first one to be released on
streaming platforms. He was contacted by the team of television talent competition ''
La Voz
Media United States
* ''La Voz Hispana de Virginia'', a magazine
* ''La Voz de Houston'', a newspaper
* ''La Voz'' (Phoenix), a newspaper
* ''La Voz'', a publication in New York's Hudson Valley owned by Bard College
Other media
* ''La Voz ...
'' through his Instagram messages to audition for the contest although he was never selected after accepting the opportunity. He also tried to participate in series nine of talent show ''
Operación Triunfo
''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements.
Format
There are many versions of t ...
'' which came back to television after a 6-year hiatus. The singer is now based in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.
He is openly gay.
Career
2017–2018: Beginnings
Lafuente first started posting covers of different songs on YouTube and Instagram in 2017. His mix of modern and antique musical arts attracted multiple people. He was asked by the team of ''La Voz'' to audition for the television contest but didn't make it to the show. In December 2017 he played his first official concert at La Rockeria, a small musical bar in Valencia. Throughout 2018 he continued posting covers and original songs on different streaming platforms and played a couple concerts in the
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
and
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 ...
. In 2018, he also collaborated with Balcony TV, a Catalan web platform that serves as a showcase for emerging artists which has also collaborated with artists like
C. Tangana
Antón Álvarez Alfaro (born July 16, 1990), known professionally as C. Tangana, is a Spanish rapper and songwriter. He began his musical career while in high school, rapping under the pseudonym Crema and releasing a seven-track EP titled ''Él ...
, Eurovision performer
Alfred García
Alfred García Castillo (born 14 March 1997) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. He gained national recognition when he took part in series nine of the reality television talent competition ''Operación Triunfo'', where he finished in fourth place, ...
or global pop phenomenon
Rosalía
Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...
back in the day. In October 2018 he posted four songs on Spotify, "Guantanamera", "Sixtinain", the previously released "El Conticinio" and a cover of Manuel Vallejo's 1926 track "Catalina" and continued promoting them in local radios and free performances in local parks. He left university after changing his professional career three times (first architecture, then cinema and then a degree in design) to focus on his music.
2019–present: Breakthrough and ''La Cantera''
In January 2019 he sang the main song for the movie "Nada Será Igual" and started a small tour which he named "La Girica" a month later. The tour visited selected musical bars in a couple of cities. On 5 June he posted the music video for "Guantanamera" directed by Pedro Artola on YouTube, this being his first music video. That same month he performed two sold-out shows at Galileo Galilei, a 500-capacity musical venue in the centre of Madrid. He also opened the show for
Diego el Cigala at the Jardins de Pedralbes festival in Barcelona and performed for the first time on television in the musical segment of
La 2 evening newscast. That same day, 14 June, his collaboration with fellow friend
Natalia Lacunza
Natalia Lacunza Sanabdón, (born 10 January 1999) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. She first gained national recognition in 2018, placing third in series 10 of the Spanish reality television talent competition ''Operación Triunfo'', behind Alba R ...
was released for digital download through
Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...
. Lacunza had participated in the
tenth edition of the Spanish televised musical contest ''
Operación Triunfo
''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements.
Format
There are many versions of t ...
'' which had an average audience of two million people. Thus, her first single, "Nana Triste", which features Guitarricadelafuente, became a must-listen song in Spain thanks to its high expectancy. The music video for "Nana Triste" was viewed more than a million times in its first 24 hours and peaked at number four on the PROMUSICAE chart, the organisation responsible for the Spanish Albums Chart.
The song charted for 18 consecutive weeks, leaving the chart in December 2019. Thanks to the success of the collaboration, his song "Guantanamera" peaked at number 69 and spent 3 weeks on the chart.
Lafuente became extremely popular and performed in several national festivals throughout the year in Valladolid and Galicia. He also expanded his tour and performed sold-out concerts in Castellón, Málaga, Granada, Murcia and Barcelona between others, all of them being sold-out. On 17 August 2019 he performed a whole concert at Las Cuevas de Cañart's old monastery ruins which, following his words, has been his most emotional and special concert to date.
The singer collaborated with Muerdo on his album "Fin de la Primera Vida", which was released in January 2020. He also covered "Cerrado Por Derribo" alongside Niño de Elche for
Joaquin Sabina's tribute album "Ni Tan Joven Ni Tan Viejo" which was a best-selling album that topped the album charts for several weeks. In 2020 he extended his national tour and scheduled two concerts in Mexico which had to be postponed due to the
2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. Other shows in theatres in Spain were cancelled or rescheduled. That same year he was also nominated for three MIN awards for "Best New Artist", "Best Music Video" for "Guantanamera" and "Song of the Year" for "Agua Y Mezcal". These awards congratulate independent music performers. In January 2020 he collaborated with Mexican musician
Silvana Estrada
Silvana Estrada (born April 15, 1997) is a Mexican musician and songwriter. She has released three albums, including two with collaboration from musician Charlie Hunter. Additionally, she has worked with artists like Natalia Lafourcade, Caloncho, A ...
on the acoustic remix of "Guantanamera".
Recording sessions for his debut album (then planned as an EP) began in October 2019. On 3 April 2020 he released "Desde las Alturas" which has been confirmed to be the first single of the album, which is scheduled to be released in late 2020 although the recording sessions have been stopped due to the ongoing pandemic. The album is being produced by Raúl Lamina and
Refree, who has worked with Rosalía and Amaia among others. The release of the songs ends his droplet no-radio impact era where he released "Nacido Pa Ganar", "Agua Y Mezcal" and "ABC" in June and September 2019 respectively.
Artistry
Lafuente has been cited as "an old soul based in the hills of Aragón with Andalusian air and with a Valencian heart; an old soul, that has no other explanation for a sensitivity typical of the greats of Spanish-Latin music". The singer describes his music as "real music, with truth and without any arrangement or production; with clear and concise messages that I didn't realise could touch the hearts of this many people"; he states that "there is no songwriting process in my songs, they occur to me on the go".
The singer has cited urban artists like
Nathy Peluso
Natalia Peluso (born 12 January 1995), known professionally as Nathy Peluso (), is an Argentinian singer, songwriter, dancer and pedagogue. Born in Argentina, and raised in Spain, Peluso became interested in the performing arts at an early age, ...
or
Bad Gyal
Alba Farelo i Solé (born 7 March 1997), known professionally as Bad Gyal, is a Spanish singer, songwriter, DJ and model. Known for her distinctive overall use of Auto-Tune, Bad Gyal has developed a strong cult following ever since her musica ...
as major influences for his songs. He gets inspired by their persona rather than their musical genre. He has also stated that he listened a lot to
Loquillo and
Extremoduro
Extremoduro () was a Spanish hard rock band from Plasencia, Extremadura. The band is led by Roberto Iniesta, also known as "Robe", who is often referred as "El rey de Extremadura" (The king of Extremadura). The name Extremoduro is a pun on th ...
while growing up but doesn't think that it will influence his music. He has also cited South American culture as a major influence by saying "I like all the Southern American imagery, it is a very rich and colorful culture. Very nice to tell. With many stories, it transmits a lot".
Discography
Albums
* ''La Cantera'' (2022)
Singles
* "El Conticinio" (2018)
* "Guantanamera" (2018)
* "Sixtinain" (2018)
* "Nacido Pa Ganar" (2019)
* "Agua Y Mezcal" (2019)
* "ABC" (2019)
* "Desde Las Alturas" (2020)
* "Ya mi mama me decía" (2020)
* "Mil y una noches" (2021)
* "Vidalita del mar" (2022)
* "Quién encendió la luz" (2022)
Collaborations
* "Nana Triste" (with
Natalia Lacunza
Natalia Lacunza Sanabdón, (born 10 January 1999) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. She first gained national recognition in 2018, placing third in series 10 of the Spanish reality television talent competition ''Operación Triunfo'', behind Alba R ...
) (2019)
* "Vas a Encontrarte" (with Muerdo) (2019)
* "Cerrado Por Derribo" (with Niño de Elche) (2019)
* "Góndolas" (with Nostalgia.en.los.autobouses and
Raül Refree
Raül Fernandez Miró (Barcelona, 1976), better known as Raül ''Refree'', is a Spanish record producer, musician and composer.
Career
In 1996, Raül joined the melodic hardcore group, Barcelona Corn Flakes, with whom he recorded ''Ménage' ...
) (2020)
* "Límite" (with Feten Feten) (2020)
* "In My Room" (with
Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor and YouTuber. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his thi ...
) (2023)
Tours
Headlining
* La Girica (2019–20)
* La Cantera Tour (2022–23)
References
{{Authority control
1997 births
Living people
Gay singers
Gay songwriters
Spanish LGBT singers
Spanish LGBT songwriters
Spanish gay musicians
Spanish folk musicians
Spanish male guitarists
Spanish pop singers
Spanish male singer-songwriters
21st-century Spanish male singers
21st-century Spanish LGBT people
Singers from the Valencian Community