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 Lebrija () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Andalusia, most specifically in the Province of Sevilla. It straddles the left bank of the Guadalquivir river, and the eastern edge of the marshes known as La ...

, province of Seville, 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 and ...

: 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 and ...

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 Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...

. 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-Qāsi ...

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 Medalla is a Spanish word meaning medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many ...

. 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