Carlos Montoya was a prominent Flamenco guitarist. Born: 13 December 1903 in Madrid, Spain; Died: 3 March 1993 in Wainscott, New York Flamenco dancer Belen Maya, photograph taken by Gilles Larrain at his studio, 2001 Flamenco is a song, music and dance style which is strongly influenced by the Gitanos, but which has its deeper roots in Moorish and Jewish musical traditions. ... December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasnt had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. ... Plaza de Cibeles (Cibeles square) and the Palacio de Comunicaciones (Communications Palace) Coat of arms. ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Wainscott is a census-designated place located in Suffolk County, New York. ...

Montoya, probably more than anyone, elevated the art of Flamenco from the café cantantés of Madrid to the well-respected concert halls across the world. The nephew of Ramón Montoya, he started accompanying dancers and singers at the age of 14. Flamenco dancer Belen Maya, photograph taken by Gilles Larrain at his studio, 2001 Flamenco is a song, music and dance style which is strongly influenced by the Gitanos, but which has its deeper roots in Moorish and Jewish musical traditions. ... Plaza de Cibeles (Cibeles square) and the Palacio de Comunicaciones (Communications Palace) Coat of arms. ... Ramón Montoya (born November 2, 1880, Madrid, Spain; Died 1949), Flamenco guitarist. ...

In the 1920's and 1930's he performed extensively in Europe, North America, and Asia. The outbreak of World War II brought him to the United States where he toured with the dancer La Argentina. Settling in New York City, he began touring on his own, bringing his fiery style to concert halls, universities, and orchestras. World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe... La Argentina (Antonia Mercé y Luque). ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Orchestra at City Hall (Edmonton). ...

Montoya's playing style was idiosyncratic. He once said, according to Brook Zern, "I do not play the way I do to please the public, though it certainly does, on five continents so far, and no other flamenco guitarist will ever fill the Houston Astrodome as I have. No, I play the way I do because to me, that is exactly the way the flamenco guitar should sound. It seems strange to me that the unknowing public should agree, while the real flamenco aficionados clearly do not...but that's the case." It was not particularly appreciated by serious flamenco students, who considered it less brilliant than many others, including Montoya's uncle Ramon. Perhaps Carlos deliberately rejected his uncle's guitar innovations because his uncle had rejected Carlos as a student. Montoya's own favorite flamenco guitarist, it was reported by Zern, was the obscure Currito de la Geroma.

It can be fairly said that Carlos Montoya, blending flamenco with American jazz, folk, and country, single-handedly (his legendary legato) made the flamenco guitar into a solo musical instrument and is therefore the musical father of today's Ottmar Liebert, who blends flamenco with New Age and other styles, drawing large American audiences. Other modern guitar virtuosos such as Stevie Ray Vaughan have used Montoya-like legatos, as seen on his "Live at the el Mocambo" DVD.

(http://www.deflamenco.com/articulos/carlosmontoya/indexi.jsp I've been a player and guitar fan since childhood, and saw Montoya at a concert at Ohio State University around 1960 or thereabouts. Thanks much for the opportunity to add background.)