Jury SGAE Award of Flamenco Paco de Lucía 2026 He recalled the quality of the teacher flamenco The universal prize was declared vacant at its third edition, held on May 20th at the Teatro Central in Seville. Antonio González, from Cádiz, with his work The readingChico Gallardo, from Huelva, with Beliefs, and Francis Gómez, with Ribera del TintoThey were ranked in third and fourth position, respectively.
The professional jury consisted of prominent composers and guitarists Gerardo Núñez, Juan Carlos Romero, Rosario La Tremendita and, representing the Paco de Lucía Foundation, Lucia Sanchez Varela. The coordinator of flamenco of the SGAE Foundation, Francisco José ArcángelAs spokesperson, she emphasized that the jury's evaluation "focused on the balance and originality of the pieces, placing less emphasis on interpretation, as this is a composition prize." She also highlighted the artistic quality of the second, third, and fourth place winners, thanking the participants "for having poured their heart and soul into their compositions and performances."
The guitarist from Cadiz Antonio González (Chipiona, Cádiz, 1999) has won second place in the III SGAE Award of Flamenco Paco de Lucía with his work The reading, a theme inspired by the painting Reading or men readingThe painting, part of Francisco de Goya's Black Paintings collection, won out over seven other finalists. All the works, composed exclusively for this competition, premiered yesterday at a final concert organized by SGAE Foundation, Andalusian Institute of Flamenco and Paco de Lucia Foundation.
After receiving his prize (worth 3.000 euros) from Pepe de Lucía, Paco de Lucía's brother, Antonio González emphasized his positive feeling "from the beginning to the end of the night, especially because I shared it with my colleagues: we never get together and this was the perfect opportunity." He added that he was "very happy, despite the nerves and the subjective nature of a final, I really enjoyed it. I was determined to seize the moment and I'm leaving happy."
Influenced by Manolo Sanlúcar, with whom he undertook a profound learning process in 2019, González is currently the guitarist on the new tour of Mayte MartínIt is also part of the dancer's new project Jesus Carmona, Algarabía, and is the composer and guitarist for the dancer's newly launched show The Lupi, The unpublished.
«The coordinator of flamenco Francisco José Arcángel, spokesperson for the SGAE Foundation, emphasized that the jury's evaluation "focused on the balance of the pieces and their originality, placing interpretation in a secondary role, because it is a composition prize."
Complete list of achievements
Along with this second prize for Antonio González, two other awards have been given out: the guitarist from Almonte Gallant Boy has won the third prize (1.500 euros), awarded by José Ángel VelezSecretary General for Cultural Innovation and Museums of the Regional Government of Andalusia, for his work BeliefsThe fourth prize, of 1.200 euros, was awarded to the guitarist from Huelva. Francis Gomez, from the hands of Lucía Sánchez Varela, daughter of Paco de Lucía, for her piece Ribera del Tinto.
The composer Manuel MarvizónThe institutional director of Music at the SGAE Foundation, welcomed the awards, which aim to "pay tribute to flamenco creation through the memory of one of its great figures, the maestro Paco de Lucía, who always, while respecting tradition, gave wings to the genre by creating new paths and avant-garde structures."
About the SGAE Award Flamenco Paco de Lucía
The SGAE Award of Flamenco Paco de Lucía was born in 2021, organized by the SGAE Foundation, the Andalusian Institute of Flamenco and the Paco de Lucía Foundation, to stimulate and recognize the creation of composers linked to the flamenco. In its first edition, in 2022 the winner was the Huelva pianist Juan Pérez Rodríguez, with his work Trial. In 2024, the winner was the guitarist from Granada. Álvaro Martinete, for his Darro sidewalk. ♦
