From Coal Boy to Father of the Sevillian School of Guitar

Who was the guitarist Paco de Lucía called «the Pope» of his generation?

A promise is a promise: here I share chapter VII, a chronicle of the Alameda de Hércules.

In his lifetime, Niño Ricardo was never fully aware of the institutional scale of what we now call «Ricardismo», which left its mark on Paco de Lucía, Víctor Monge «Serranito» and Manolo Sanlúcar.

He was the accompanying tocaor (guitarist) who, starting out in the cafés cantantes, became the most sought-after of his time in the era of the Ópera Flamenca. He backed giants such as Pastora Imperio, the Niña de los Peines, Pepe Marchena, Carmen Amaya, Concha Piquer and Juanito Valderrama. Later on he also accompanied Antonio Núñez «el Chocolate», and in 1949 he shared an international tour with Sabicas in Mexico.

Paco de Lucía himself put it this way: «Ricardo was the master of our generation, of Sanlúcar, of Serranito, of all of us. In those days he was the guitarist who represented the very best, the Pope… So we young players looked to him and tried to learn from him and copy him».

I am a cultural manager, and on my author’s itinerary through the Alameda I open my research notebook to you.