CURRO DE MARÍA
Curro de María, flamenco guitar born in Málaga
Francisco Fernández Doblas, known artistically as Curro de María, was born in Málaga in 1976. His stage name is a tribute to his mother, María, and his training began with flamenco guitar lessons from the maestro Pedro Escalona.
He was soon in demand among Málaga singers and built a career based above all on accompaniment. That experience allowed him to know cante and baile from the inside and to develop a guitar attentive to the compás, to the artist’s breathing and to the needs of each moment on stage.
A guitar at the service of cante and baile
Throughout his career he has accompanied voices such as Estrella Morente, Chano Lobato, Montse Cortés and Rafael de Utrera, among others, at festivals and theaters. In dance he has worked with artists such as Rafael de Carmen, Juan de Juan, Rafael Amargo and Marco Flores.
His professional relationship with La Lupi also holds a significant place in his career. Together with the Málaga dancer he developed company projects, reinforcing a style of playing closely tied to the stage and to choreographic accompaniment.
Curro de María at Tablao La Carmela
In a tablao, the guitar has to react immediately to what is happening. The playing accompanies the cante, marks out space for the dance and takes part in building the tension and rhythm of every piece.
Curro de María brings to this context long experience accompanying artists of very different profiles. His knowledge of the stage lets him move naturally between the structure of the palo and the freedom of a live performance.
The value of accompaniment on the guitar
Flamenco guitar is not limited to the solo concert. In its relationship with cante and baile it takes on an essential role: to listen, to respond and to sustain. A large part of Curro de María’s career has been built precisely from that place.
His presence at Tablao La Carmela reinforces an understanding of the flamenco show as a continuous conversation among the three great disciplines of the stage: guitar, cante and baile.
