Ramón Montoya (November 2, 1879,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

– July 20, 1949,

) was a

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

guitarist and composer. Born into a family of Gitano ( Romani) cattle traders, Ramón Montoya used earnings from working in the trade to purchase his first

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. 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 that started in 1912 and lasted more than a decade. Both participated in the Concurso de Cante Jondo 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 and

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 flamen ...

. He is the uncle of flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya. His granddaughter, Rosa Montoya, is most known for introducing flamenco dance to most of California with her studio based in San Francisco.

References

Selected filmography

* '' Carmen, la de Triana'' (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 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Spanish male musicians Calé people