Pepe Habichuela, Flamenco Guitar Legend and Patriarch, Dies at 81

Pepe Habichuela, a celebrated flamenco guitarist and a central figure in a prominent musical family, has passed away at the age of 81 following an illness that had kept him from performing for the past two years. Known for his deeply rooted flamenco guitar artistry, Habichuela was a custodian of traditions passed down through his family for generations.

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Pepe Habichuela's guitar falls silent, but his music will continue to resonate wherever flamenco continues to tell who we are. Thank you for a life dedicated to art and for enriching our cultural heritage.

His death has cast a somber mood over Spain's music scene. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez offered his condolences, stating, "Pepe Habichuela's guitar falls silent, but his music will continue to resonate wherever flamenco continues to tell who we are. Thank you for a life dedicated to art and for enriching our cultural heritage."

Born José Antonio Carmona Carmona in Granada in 1944, music was an undeniable destiny for Habichuela within a family steeped in the flamenco art form. The "Habichuela" nickname has been a familial legacy since the late 19th century. While his son Josemi and nephews gained international fame with the group Ketama, blending flamenco with other genres, Pepe and his elder brother Juan remained dedicated guardians of the traditional sound, preserving their grandfather's moniker.

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My father was called Juan Carmona Fernández. My surnames are Carmona Carmona. We were seven siblings, four boys and three girls. The men played the guitar and the women danced. We lived in a cave in the Albaicín. We had to share clothes and food. It was another era.

Habichuela often recounted his upbringing in a cave in the Albaicín neighborhood of Granada, where music was a communal and essential part of life. He described a childhood filled with impromptu musical gatherings, serenades, and the shared experiences of his large family, where music was both a passion and a means of survival. By his early twenties, he had moved to Madrid, becoming a fixture in flamenco venues and sharing stages with legendary artists like Camarón de la Isla and Enrique Morente, with whom he also recorded.

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My grandfather started it, who was called Habichuela 'el Viejo' but his name was Ico, because in Granada we say 'ico' a lot. I didn't know him. I'm talking about the 19th century. But the real Habichuela el Viejo was my father, who was called Habichuela because they say there was an old guitarist named Juan Gandulla Habichuela, who accompanied Don Antonio Chacón and La Niña de los Peines, and he was the one who taught my father to play. They also say they called him Habichuela because as a child he liked to eat beans a lot.