Ramón Montoya (November 2, 1879,

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") , ...

– July 20, 1949,

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 ...

guitarist and composer. Born into a family of Gitano (

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

) cattle traders, Ramón Montoya used earnings from working in the trade to purchase his first

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

. He began playing in the cafés de cante before he was twenty years of age. He formed a partnership with the great flamenco cantaor (singer)

Antonio Chacón Antonio Chacón (1869–1929) was a Spanish flamenco singer antaor Chacón was born in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz Province. He began earning a living by performing flamenco around 1884. He toured Andalucia with his two friends, the Molin ...

that started in 1912 and lasted more than a decade. Both participated in the

Concurso de Cante Jondo El Concurso del Cante Jondo (Contest of the Deep Song) was a fiesta of flamenco arts, music, song, and dance, held in Granada in 1922. Conceived and initiated by composer Manuel de Falla, it enjoyed early and strong support from the poet Federico ...

of 1922 held in Granada. These two were largely responsible for establishing the form of the various traditional flamenco cantes that are recognized today. In traditional flamenco, the guitar was relegated to a supporting role. Cante (singing) and baile (dance) were the main performers whom the guitarist supported. Montoya was one of the first to challenge this role. His strong playing often overpowered the singer whom he accompanied. He eventually took the next logical step and began to play as a solo or lead performer in a concert setting. His performances are widely credited by flamenco historians as establishing the flamenco guitar in this role.Cf., D. E. Pohren, ''Lives and Legends of Flamenco'' (Madrid 1964, 1988) at 273-277. He was the single most influential flamenco guitarist of the 20th century. His innovations made possible the solo careers of such later greats as

Sabicas Sabicas (proper name: Agustín Castellón Campos) (16 March 1912 – 14 April 1990) was a Spanish flamenco guitarist of Romani origin. Biography Sabicas was born in Pamplona, Spain, and began playing guitar at the age of five and made his perfor ...

Manitas de Plata Ricardo Baliardo (7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014), better known as Manitas de Plata, was a flamenco guitarist of Spanish Gitano descent born in southern France. Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was criticized for not following certain rh ...

and Manuel Molina. He is the uncle of flamenco guitarist

Carlos Montoya Carlos García Montoya (13 December 19033 March 1993) in Madrid, Spain, was a prominent flamenco guitarist and a founder of the modern-day popular flamenco style of music. Early life He was the nephew of renowned flamenco guitarist Ramón Monto ...

. His granddaughter, Rosa Montoya, is noted for introducing flamenco dance to most of California with her studio based in San Francisco.

References

Selected 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)

External links

Ramón Montoya biography and discography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montoya, Ramon 1879 births 1949 deaths Spanish flamenco guitarists Spanish male guitarists Musicians from Madrid Romani guitarists Spanish Romani people Flamenco guitarists 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Spanish male musicians