GBH Openvault

La Plaza; Paco De Lucia: The Soul of Flamenco

02/22/1994

Paco de Lucia

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Series

La Plaza

Program

Paco De Lucia: The Soul of Flamenco

Program Number

1601

Series Description

Premiered January 10, 1979- Officially La Plaza as a separate series title ended after season 28 (2006). It was replaced by the interview series: Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One which premiered in 2007.

Producer Raquel Ortiz anticipates that the bilingual series will serve as a plaza for the entire local Latino community. Ortiz also served as the host during the first season along with guest hosts. The program format varied from week to week, between musical specials, documentaries, in-studio debates, both locally produced and acquired. Spanish language programs were subtitled in English and English language programs were captioned in Spanish.

See January 1979 Prime Time Program Guide for cover story. Series release date: 1/10/1979

Program Description

Guitar Review magazine called him “the most advanced guitarist in any medium,” and he is widely considered to be the living legend of flamenco music. LA PLAZA presents flamenco master Paco de Lucia in concert and interview in Paco de Lucia: Soul of Flamenco, a one-hour special.

Recorded in the WGBH studios, de Lucia and his six-piece band (guitarists Ramon de Algeciras and Rubem Dantas, singer and guitarist Pepe de Lucia, bassist Carlos Benavent, saxophone and flute player Jorge Pardo, and percussionist and dancer Manuel Soler) perform the centuries-old folk music of southern Spain. Pensive, fiery, soulful, and dramatic, de Lucia's compositions bring contemporary musical influences to the traditional flamenco, with its roots in Gypsy, Arab, Sephardic Jewish, and Andalusian cultures.

In this LA PLAZA special, Paco de Lucia and his band perform Lucia's compositions “Altamar,” “Mi Niño Curro,” “La Barrosa,” “Gitanos Andaluces,” “Casilda,” and “Tio Sabas.”

Paco de Lucia began performing at age 11, recorded his first album at age 18 and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1970, at age 23. “I was born and raised with flamenco,” he tells LA PLAZA. “When I first held a guitar, I already knew the rhythms of flamenco.”

In interview and with archival concert footage, LA PLAZA traces de Lucia's musical history. He tells of his early encounter with master flamenco guitarist Sábicas, who encouraged him to compose his own music. Performing with guitarists Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin in 1982 (a trio that was reunited in a recent Symphony Hall concert) taught him the difficulty -- and the learning potential -- of playing jazz. He discusses how other musical influences have joined the flamenco in his music: “I am untraditional, but I am still flamenco. Even if I try to play other music, flamenco will still come out,” he says.

Duration

00:34:00

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Video

Creators

Ortiz, Raquel (Series Producer)

Citation

Chicago: “La Plaza; Paco De Lucia: The Soul of Flamenco,” 02/22/1994, GBH Archives, accessed July 27, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_92C9406F6B27407682CC055D775A39AF.

MLA: “La Plaza; Paco De Lucia: The Soul of Flamenco.” 02/22/1994. GBH Archives. Web. July 27, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_92C9406F6B27407682CC055D775A39AF>.

APA: La Plaza; Paco De Lucia: The Soul of Flamenco. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_92C9406F6B27407682CC055D775A39AF