When you have to write an article about someone you admire and appreciate as much as you like, it's both a luxury and a challenge. Antonio Dovao He's not just an expert on the guitar and its construction. He's a scholar of the instrument and its various disciplines. He's a true friend. He collaborates on every event where he's needed. He's active on social media and in digital training.
Antonio Dovao Hidalgo was born into a humble, working-class family in August 1976 in Córdoba. When he was just over a year old, his family moved to Huelva. He lived with his parents. Antonio Dovao y Ana hidalgo and his siblings Carlos and Ana. Besides Antonio, Carlos is a painter and Ana is a fencer. Today, each of them runs a school for their respective sport.
His contact with the six-stringed instrument came at a late age, between thirteen and fourteen. He himself suggests that this may be because his father liked to play the guitar in the privacy of his room. “My father would lock himself in his room with the light off, and my mother would say that he shouldn’t be disturbed, that Dad was playing music.”He thought it was a serious and somewhat taboo subject. His love for the guitar comes from listening to his father and his records. And in them, he identifies the different techniques his father teaches him. “I learned a falseta for soleá from my father and on the records I realized that it was the same as what I played.”"He comments. Although there was no flamenco tradition in his home, his father is a founding member of the..." Peña Flamenca from San Juan del Puerto de Huelva. Following in his father's footsteps, he receives lessons in José Corbi and in the Peña Flamenca from Huelva with Antonio MarquezHe also has contact with other teachers from Huelva such as Manolo Sierra o Maria Jose Matos. It debuted on June 18, 1998 in the Peña flamenca from Huelva giving a solo concert.
Antonio completed all his student years in Huelva. He never lost his love for the guitar. He began traveling to Seville with the intention of furthering his training as a guitarist. He focused on accompanying other musical groups. cante. And in the Cristina Heeren Foundation receives classes in Eduardo Rebollar o Jose Luis PostigoBut his admiration for the accompanying touch to the cante This causes her to skip technique classes to attend classes in Orange from Triana o Jose de la TomasaHowever, to improve, he takes classes, apart from the Foundation, with the Pura's child, Fernando Moreno o Merengue from Cordoba.
After his time at the Cristina Heeren Foundation and various courses and masterclasses, he settled in Huelva as a guitar teacher at the Peña Flamenca From Huelva, from the beginning of the third millennium. Guitarist for various amateurs and figures of the cante and from the dance, he acts as shadow president when his wife takes the presidency of the Peña Flamenca from Huelva around 2012.
Throughout his career, artists of the caliber of Manuel Lombo, Guillermo Cano, Argentina, Rocío Díaz, Jerómo Segura, Miguel de Tena, Manuel Ortiz, Sebastián Cruz, Antonio Saavedra, El Pecas, Pepe el Marismeño, El Brujo, Tina Pavón, Rocío Márquez, Marcelo Sousa or Consuelo HaldónIt is worth highlighting her participation in the 2004 Seville Biennial, with Manuela Laíno on tours in Algeria and Holland, and participates as a guitarist in all the circuits organized by the Federation of PeñaFlamenco groups in Huelva. Also as the official guitarist for most of the fandango competitions that take place during the summer in the province of Huelva. It is at that moment that he tells me: “Summer is my fandango route”.
His tireless thirst for learning leads him to undertake the Diploma in Teaching with a specialization in MusicHe is an expert in pedagogy and neuropsychology of education, and a specialist in music therapy. In his writing, he combines scientific knowledge with his musical experience to create his own teaching methods, such as the PEMI Publica system. The guitarist's handbook flamencoa proven success on Amazon. Also launching The guitarist's corner flamenco and numerous books with falsetas and studies for all levels.
A career in constant exploration led Antonio Dovao to record two solo albums. These works are The legacy, in 2016, and The Disciple, in 2022. To this we must add his participation in albums by Manuela Laíno, Plácido González, Manuel Requiebros, Juan Toro and with singers from different peñaFlemish institutions.
"Antonio Dovao's guitar is a real guitar, without frills, gadgets, or screws. It's just him, the guitar, and his soul. A guitar with its own language: affectionate, recognizable, elegant, serious, clean, and full of inspiration. A language flamenco where the rhythm rocks the freedom of its touch
Antonio is not a conformist; he is a constant explorer of the guitar. A staunch defender of the Huelva style of guitar playing and its fandango. In 2023, he received the Flamenco Star award for his defense of this legacy. flamenco From Huelva. Over the years, his teaching and educational activity has evolved. And after a meticulous study of all aspects, two of his most important works were born. His online academy, Cursodeguitarraflamenca.com, well structured by levels and by palos flamencos. He himself recalls: “I’ve been teaching via Skype and other applications for many years, and that’s where the idea for my website came from.”An academy born from a desire to transmit knowledge of flamenco guitar playing. Although much of the content focuses on technique and study, a significant portion is dedicated to accompaniment. canteWith resources for progressive advancement. And on the other hand, the La Cavaera Flamenca Cultural AssociationDedicated to teaching the playing and preservation of the folk music of Huelva. This project has been taking shape since Maestro Dovao became an important part of the management of the Peña Flamenca from Huelva. And little by little it establishes itself as a cultural association that promotes and disseminates the art of flamenco guitar playing. flamenco and guitar making. And for which in 2020 he received the Andalusian Courage Award by the Union of Professionals and Self-Employed Workers.
Guitar making is another of his passions. He began his training under the tutelage of a luthier from Huelva. Jose Antonio GomezThey both start the project Gomez and Dovao“Due to the crisis, it was a resounding failure,” he says. Despite the difficulties, Antonio continues building guitars. His instruments reach the hands of enthusiasts and students at various guitar schools. He even went so far as to introduce a lutherie academy into his association, La Cavaera Flamenca, an idea promoted by the students themselves out of interest in building their own guitars. Today, La Cavaera Flamenca is a leading center for learning flamenco guitar playing. flamenco and the construction of the instrument. “Teaching has to start from experience, because otherwise the student ends up bored. It's clear you have to learn the technical side. But once you feel it's something you own, the progress is positive and rewarding.cante. I don't have an academy to create artists, regardless of whether any emerge."
Another of their projects that we see growing is the Flamenco Guitar Convention City of HuelvaA commitment to disseminating the entire history of guitar making. It consists of a concert, several lectures, and a social gathering for all the speakers and attendees. Figures such as José Carlos Gómez, Paco del Gastor, José María Gallardo del Rey, Pedro Sierra, José de Pura, Manolo Herrera, Paco Cortés, Carmelo Picón, Manolo de la Luz, Miguel Vargas, Ricardo Miño, Álvaro Mora or José Luis PostigoWriters such as [names of writers] also participate. Cesar Suarez, or guitar makers like José Antonio Gómez, Abraham Ortega, Alberto Pantoja, Ana Espinosa or Felipe Conde JrAmong the various programs at this convention, one stands out that is dedicated to Paco de LucíaAnd, in addition, one dedicated to female guitarists with Davinia Ballesteros, Alba Espert, Paola Hermosín and Antonia JiménezIt's worth noting that this event has become a significant date in the guitar-making world, attracting prominent figures from the guitar industry and its construction as audience members.
In his teaching career, he trains future guitarists. And he teaches at the Peña Flamenca from Huelva, Rotterdam Conservatory, the universities of Seville, Granada, and Huelva, and through their aforementioned association and website. Their dissemination of information on technical aspects through social media is extraordinary. It ranges from simple studies to interviews and guitar presentations.
Antonio is currently involved in important projects. Sound Temples It's a project in which he lends his guitar to accompany paintings. In this project, he ventures into classical guitar. He composes and records a major orchestral and symphonic work. He's making progress on his next book, a biographical work, all while fulfilling his professional commitments.
Antonio confesses: “One of the reasons I'm stepping away from the stage is due to a lack of motivation.For the laughs, the good times, the arrival, everyone teasing each other—things that could fill a book. And when you lose that stage bug, all you're left with is the financial aspect. That coexistence that existed before, nowadays is more timed, rushed, competitive“So, from an analytical point of view, Antonio sees that only the financial aspect remains. And from what he can see, it hasn't changed much since those years. Therefore, he focuses on his composition and teaching projects.”
The maestro believes that flamenco and classical guitar complement each other. Classical guitar has always intrigued him. Studying it allows him to evolve. And playing classical pieces opens him up to a world of countless possibilities. In the relationship between the classical and the flamenco Notice how it's turned around. Before, the classics wanted nothing to do with flamencoBut nowadays they are getting closer and closer. On the other hand, the great concert pianists flamencoThey always have details from the classic.
Antonio Dovao's guitar is a real guitar, without frills, gimmicks, or screws. It's just him, the guitar, and his soul. A guitar with its own language: affectionate, recognizable, elegant, serious, clean, and brimming with inspiration. A language flamenco where the rhythm cradles the freedom of its touch. Which is evident in The legacy, a seguiriya in which the roots of flamenco They evolve into the purest truth. And that's what I'm in love with. Antonio is true to himself. And he's someone I'm lucky enough to share friendship, time with, and more than one beer with. A wonderful guitarist and an immense person. Who gave me a simply beautiful interview. Thank you, maestro. Thank you, friend. ♦
Israel. It's not easy to structure an article or chronicle like the one you wrote about my son. It's filled with simplicity, truth, and justice. It's clear you have a lot of the oldest, most truthful, "old-school" journalism in your blood. Thank you for your professionalism and unwavering loyalty. flamenco.
Thank you so much for your feedback and contribution. Antonio is a wonderful person and a great artist, as well as a true friend. I admire him, and this article is well deserved.