
A young master of the Spanish guitar: Josué Tacoronte
He ended up studying classical guitar, and while still at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, he discovered another side of the path he had chosen: the long hours of study, the almost exclusive dedication, the competitiveness. It was a kind of confirmation for him: the understanding that the path he had chosen had to be taken very seriously. His determination soon bore fruit: he won four Amadeo Roldán awards and first prize for interpretation in the Guillermo Tomá s Competition. He has not stopped reaping success since then. As a performer, composer, and arranger, Josué Tacoronte has worked on very diverse music, one could say through a series of bursts of curiosity and self-importance. Working for the Ballet Español de Cuba and receiving advice from master flamenco guitarists, he mastered this style in all its forms: classical guitar and accompaniment for singing and dancing. His love for Mexico, where he currently resides, led him to become interested in that country's pre-Hispanic musical traditions, such as the Aztec. Mextizo, one of his shows, fuses these two influences, Mexican music and flamenco, with Cuban rhythms. And so one could continue listing the evidence of Tacoronte's eclecticism: his flamenco interpretation of the works of composer Leo Brouwer or his performances with the musical group Skpao, which blend jazz, Cuban son, and classical guitar music. Josué Tacoronte is also a teacher at the Music and Dance Ensemble Academy in Querétaro. It must be a blessing to have as a teacher someone who has brought out such varied sounds from the Spanish guitar.