Paco de Antequera
Who is Paco de Antequera?
Francisco Márquez y Méndez, “Paco de Antequera,” was born in 1938 in Antequera (Málaga). A payo in a scene dominated mostly by Gitano families, as a child he already stood out by winning prizes at local festivals and performing in Chinese theater shows, before turning professional in 1960.
Career
He made his debut in Madrid in 1961 at the Riscal, where he stayed for two seasons before moving to the Corral de la Morería. In 1964 Antonio Gades hired him to take him to the New York World’s Fair, and between 1966 and 1979 he was a permanent member of the cast at the Las Brujas tablao in Madrid, later also performing at Los Canasteros and the Venta del Gato. In 1986 he became lead guitarist for Manuela Vargas’s show, taking part in productions such as “El Sur” and “La Petenera.” Throughout his career he accompanied figures of the stature of Manolo Caracol, Terremoto, Beni de Cádiz, Lola Flores, Pansequito and la Niña de la Puebla, and shared the stage with guitarists such as Paco de Lucía and Manolo Sanlúcar. He traveled frequently to Japan, where his playing found particular favor.
Style and discography
No notable solo recordings of his have survived, since his career unfolded mainly live, in tablaos and accompaniment tours; it was precisely that professionalism, combined with a highly refined technique, that earned him the recognition of specialist critics, who went so far as to call him the best Spanish guitarist of the 1960s.
Legacy
His last performance took place on December 22, 2000 at the II Navidad Flamenca in Antequera, held at the Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor, just days before his death on December 30 of that same year in Santa Fe (Granada).