The European Guitar Foundation considers him the best guitarist on the continent in 2023. Ricardo Fernández del Moral himself announced it hours before the award ceremony, quite surprised and moved.
Ricardo Fernández del Moral. Festival de la Guitarra de Granada
Before performing in front of an audience at the Granada Guitar Festival last night, Ricardo Fernández del Moral received the European Guitar Foundation’s recognition of a “unique artist”.
The later give at the Palacio de Carlos V in this Andalusian city only confirmed that the award is more than justified. Under the name Cant-arte y toc-arte, he performed farrucas, granainas, alegrías and rumbas. And Ricardo was a master of the performance. Both in vocals and guitar playing, as it is precisely one of his great virtues, to be able to perform both masterfully.
Art in the veins
Ricardo Fernández del Moral (Ciudad Real, 1974) began practising the guitar at the age of 8, encouraged by his father, flamenco singer and great flamenco enthusiast. It is formed with Óscar Herrero and Manolo Martín and at the age of 14 he started playing the guitar in several peñas.
This is a key stage: he discovers that he likes singing more. So he ended up combining these two aspects, which has made him a rara avis on the flamenco scene. In 2012, he was the first artist to win on the same night five prizes in the Cante de las Minas contest: malagueña, taranta, soleá, toná, minera, and, what’s more, the Lámpara Minera. It was the first time this had happened in the history of the event. His career has been unstoppable ever since.
Año 2012, cuando el Cante de las Minas se rindió a su talento.
The guitar festival, the European association and Ricardo Fernández del Moral
The fact that the award was presented to him hours before the opening of the Granada event has an explanation. Vicente Coves, a concert pianist and cultural manager, decided to create the European Guitar Foundation in 2016 to support and promote the art of the Spanish guitar.
The Granada Guitar Festival was born in 2017 under the umbrella of this entity, also involving the City Council and the California State University. This 2023, the festival brings a programme full of genius that we tell you about in this post. The foundation is also behind other events, such as the highly prestigious Concurso Internacional de Construcción de Guitarras Antonio Marín Montero, which will award the 2023 prizes in the same framework of the festival.
Ricardo F. del Moral and +Que Flamencos
Enjoy this video appetizer of the show + Que Flamenco, a programme that you can see in full at ALL FLAMENCO. You will experience cante, copla, guitar and dance through a traditional repertoire performed masterfully.