“The eating and the singing is about to start...”
A program of Sephardic Songs originating mostly from the countries that received the Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Sepharad (Iberian Peninsula) at the end of the 15th century, especially from the former Ottoman Empire, North Africa and the Balkans.
In this repertoire, the songs cite recipes and aromas of the rich gastronomy that the Sephardim developed and cherished in their destinations of diasporas, seasoned with a touch of Spanish sounds. From the sound of traditional Iberian plucked string instruments, which then has fostered and peppered the universally famous Flamenco, the repertoire is interpreted by the voice of Paco Díez, the Mediterranean mandola, and the virtuoso performance of Raúl Olivar's flamenco guitar.
PACO DÍEZ, a Spaniard born in Piñel de Abajo (Valladolid), a graduate in Philology and a self-taught musician, began his musical career in 1978, focusing most of his career on spreading the Iberian Musical Culture, with his very personal voice accompanied by the guitar. , the mandola, the bagpipe or the percussions, in addition to having a solid ethnographic background backed by a rigorous compilation of Traditional Knowledge in various areas of the Iberian Peninsula, the biblical Sepharad.
RAÚL OLIVAR, born in Valladolid, studied concert guitar with Manolo Sanlúcar, Rafael Riqueni, José Jiménez “Viejín” and Oscar Herrero. He trained in singing and dancing accompaniment at the Amor de Dios school (Madrid) with Aquilino Jiménez “Entry” and furthered his studies in Modern Harmony and Contemporary Guitar in Madrid with Félix Santos, obtaining outstanding marks in both specialties.
He has released three flamenco guitar albums of which he is the author, composer and producer, in addition to having collaborated on numerous albums by national artists, combining his personal project with other musical projects and collaborations, as well as continuing to be linked to flamenco dance, composing for various companies. and performing since 2006 a continuous work in the Professional School of Dance of Castilla y León.