Jerónimo Maya
Who is Jerónimo Maya?
Jerónimo Maya Maya was born in Madrid in 1977, into a Gitano family with deep flamenco roots and a direct descendant of maestro Ramón Montoya. His father, Felipe Maya, was a professional guitarist, and his great-uncle was the cantaor Ricardo Losada “el Yunque.” He began playing the guitar at five, learning directly from his father, and gave his first public concert at just seven at the Cumbre Flamenca in Madrid, a precocious debut that foreshadowed a career marked by childhood talent.
That status as a child prodigy was confirmed in 1989, when at just twelve he performed at Carnegie Hall in New York alongside Paco de Lucía and Enrique Morente. By then he already had a close relationship with Sabicas, whom he would see during the maestro’s visits to Madrid, and the following year he took part in a tribute to Sabicas himself at the Festival de Olite alongside Manolo Sanlúcar.
Career
He later completed his training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, which gave him a classical technical foundation that he combined with sophisticated, modern flamenco playing. Throughout his career he shared the stage and collaborated with top-tier figures such as Camarón de la Isla —at the Málaga bullring—, Diego el Cigala, Chano Lobato, Esperanza Fernández, Estrella Morente, José de la Tomasa, Ginesa Ortega and Paco del Pozo, as well as performing at theaters such as the María Guerrero and the Monumental in Madrid, the Gran Teatro de Córdoba and the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, in December 2003. His playing of soleá, seguiriya, granaína, bulería, rondeña and tangos also took him on tour to Japan, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Jordan.
Style and discography
Before his debut album, he took part as a guitarist in recordings by other artists, such as “Sabiduría y Duende” (2001) by his great-uncle Ricardo Losada “el Yunque,” “Por los espejos del agua” (2002) by Ginesa Ortega, and “Vestido de Luces” (2003) by Paco del Pozo, co-produced with Jorge Pardo. In 2004 he released his solo debut album, “Jerónimo,” which he composed and produced, a work that established his profile as a soloist within contemporary flamenco guitar.
Legacy
His career has been recognized from a very young age: he won the Copa Teatro Pavón for young artists in 1999, at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, and made a notable appearance at the Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival in 2001. His album “Jerónimo” earned him the 2004 award for Best Revelation Solo Guitar Album at the Flamenco Hoy awards, presented at Casa Patas (Madrid). Since then he has established himself as one of the most respected young voices in flamenco guitar, heir to a family lineage that connects to Ramón Montoya and to masters such as Sabicas and Paco de Lucía, with whom he shared the stage as a child and teenager.