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Vincent Chavez Although a native of Colorado, Vicente received most of his training in Andalucía, Spain. While living in Jerez, flamenco's epicenter, Vicente immersed himself in the flamenco and gypsy culture. He accompanied dance classes, at the "Peña Bulería," he attended many an all-night juerga, and he studied guitar with several noted masters. Vicente learned both the traditional and modern styles of flamenco, with an emphasis on the ubiquitous bulerias de Jerez.
While living in Andalucía, Vicente found that flamenco is not simply a music genre, it is a way of life. Flamenco in not the exclusive property of the gypsies. A strict definition of flamenco would make it out to be the folk music of Southern Spain, but it is really about living for art and expression. Being a flamenco is about relishing the human experience with all its inherent vicissitudes, amplifying both the pleasure and the pain in search of the sublime. Sharing and expressing the universal themes of human existence through singing, dancing, guitar playing, and or just giving palmas and jaleos within the traditional framework of this art, is what it means to be a flamenco. Technical abilities matter less than the soul, or duende, that lies behind the music.
Vicente has been playing flamenco guitar for over fifteen years and has been teaching for the last five. He has performed in Germany, Canada, Thailand, and of course his native U.S. Currently he resides in Colorado and works with the ensemble "Embrujo Flamenco."
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