Digitized from the LP shown above, released on the RCA Victor label in 1964, catalogue number FPM 120. Dr. Juan Serrano is a flamenco guitarist who has played concerts and made recordings throughout the world. He has devoted much of his life to giving concerts and teaching flamenco guitar in the United States. Serrano was born in Córdoba, Spain in 1935. At the age of 9, he studied guitar with his father, Antonio del Lunar, a professional guitarist. Serrano made his professional debut at age 13, and soon earned a reputation throughout Spain and Europe as a gifted musician. He performed and recorded with flamenco musical, dance, and theatrical companies. At this time Serrano also started his solo career. His home town of Córdoba was so proud of his accomplishments that they replaced the bell in the town clock with recordings of his guitar playing. In 1961 Serrano accepted an invitation to come to America and perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. The success of this performance led to numerous solo flamenco guitar concerts and more TV appearances, then a recording contract with Elektra Records, who released his US debut album "Ole, la mano!" in 1962. The New York Times said Serrano had "ten dexterous fingers that often sound like twenty... a breathtaking technician who can wring rhythmic dance fury out of fandangos and zapateados. He is a lyric sentamentalist, who can make the strings cry." Serrano made the US his home, where he achieved renown as an instructor. In Feb. 1968 he was the featured cover-photo artist for Guitar Player magazine. Along with others such as Sabicas and Mario Escudero, Serrano's virtuosity helped establish solo flamenco guitar as a viable concert instrument beyond the borders of Spain. El flamenco es un estilo de música y danza que se originó en Andalucía (España). El flamenco tal y como lo conocemos hoy en día data del siglo XVIII, y tiene como base la música y la danza andaluza. Existe controversia sobre su origen, ya que si existen distintas opiniones y vertientes, ninguna de ellas puede ser comprobada de forma histórica, y aunque el diccionario de la RAE lo asocia a la etnia gitana,1 esto no debe ser aplicable a su origen, pero, no obstante, ningún estudioso de la materia duda de la aportación gitana inicial a las bases actuales del flamenco. De todas las hipótesis sobre su origen, la tesis más extendida es el origen morisco, sólo que el mestizaje cultural que se dio en Andalucía (oriundos, musulmanes, gitanos, castellanos inmigrantes, judíos, etc.) propició el origen de este género. Gitanos hay en muchas partes del mundo y, sin embargo, el flamenco solo fue originario de Andalucía. Está considerado actualmente como Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad y Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial Etnológico Andaluz.

• published: 05 Jun 2014
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