Paco Cepero
Who is Paco Cepero?
Francisco López Cepero García, known artistically as Paco Cepero, was born on March 6, 1942 in Jerez de la Frontera. He was a great-nephew of the singer José Cepero, so flamenco music was part of the family atmosphere from his childhood. He began playing guitar as a child and cut his teeth performing at festivals and charity events in his city before making the leap to professional stages.
Career
He trained with Javier Molina and Rafael del Águila, though he himself always acknowledged the influence of the Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, whose music opened him up to sonorities outside the most orthodox flamenco. He made his debut at the Gran Teatro Falla in Cádiz at just sixteen and, from 1963, became La Paquera de Jerez’s guitarist, touring all of Spain with her. He also passed through the Madrid tablao Los Canasteros and, from 1970, began an intense international career that took him as a concert performer to stages across Europe, the Americas and Asia. For decades he was El Lebrijano’s principal accompanist and composed cantes for El Chiquetete, besides regularly taking part in the great Andalusian festivals.
Style and discography
From that blend of Jerez roots and curiosity about Latin American sonorities emerged a rhythmically brilliant style of rare quality, with a virtuosic, clean technique. After a long gap of twenty-five years without recording as a soloist, he released “De Pura Cepa” (2000) and, in 2007, “Abolengo,” an eleven-track album with which he celebrated fifty years on stage.
Legacy
His career has been recognized with distinctions such as the Premio Nacional de Guitarra Flamenca from the Cátedra de Flamencología de Jerez, the Manolo de Huelva accompaniment prize, the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba, El Yunque from the Tertulia Flamenca de Ceuta, the Castillete de La Unión, the Copa Jerez, the Premio Ciudad de Jerez and, in 2014, the Compás del Cante distinction, a record of honors confirming one of the longest and most solid careers in contemporary Jerez guitar.