Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia, who blended the flamenco sound of his native land with jazz and other genres that attracted a new generation of fans, has died at the age of 66 of an apparent heart attack.
A government official in de Lucia's hometown of Algeciras, Spain says the musician died Tuesday after he fell ill on a beach while with his family in Cancun, Mexico. Algeciras will observe several days of official mourning in is memory.
De Lucia began his career as a teenager in the 1960s when he formed a popular duo with the late flamenco singer Camaron de la Isla, a pairing that launched the New Flamenco movement. He later joined forces with American jazz guitarists John McLaughlin and Al di Meola, producing the best-selling 1981 album "Friday Night in San Francisco."
De Lucia was awarded his country's prestigious Asturius Prize for the Arts in 2004.
A government official in de Lucia's hometown of Algeciras, Spain says the musician died Tuesday after he fell ill on a beach while with his family in Cancun, Mexico. Algeciras will observe several days of official mourning in is memory.
De Lucia began his career as a teenager in the 1960s when he formed a popular duo with the late flamenco singer Camaron de la Isla, a pairing that launched the New Flamenco movement. He later joined forces with American jazz guitarists John McLaughlin and Al di Meola, producing the best-selling 1981 album "Friday Night in San Francisco."
De Lucia was awarded his country's prestigious Asturius Prize for the Arts in 2004.
