Juan Diego Mateos was born in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) in 1969. He started learning the Jerezano style under local masters such as El Carbonero and José Luis Balao. At the age of ten, he delved deeply into flamenco guitar studies and completed his training under Manolo Sanlúcar and Luis Balaguer for harmony. His international career began with the children’s ballet Albarizuela, leading to a flourishing career in dance accompaniment, which further developed after moving to Madrid around 1989.

Juan Diego then joined Rafael Aguilar’s company, performing in “Carmen.” He collaborated with Luisillo on “Luna de Sangre,” composing the music, and joined Joaquín Cortés’ company. He also created dance compositions for Antonio el Pipa’s “Herencia Gitana” and Antonio Vargas’ “La Casa de Bernarda Alba,” and accompanied dancers like Joaquín Grilo, Juana Amaya, and Antonio Canales.

As a studio guitarist, he recorded with Remedios Amaya, Jorge Pardo, and others. In autumn 2003, he released his first solo album, Luminaria, which won him the 2003 National Critics Award for Best Debut Guitar Album.
In 2005, Juan Diego Mateos received the award for Best Original Music for Dance at the XIV Spanish and Flamenco Dance Choreography Competition in Madrid for his composition for the piece “Todo lo Perderé” by La Calabaza Danza Teatro. As a guitarist and composer, he was commissioned by BOSE to record two documentaries, “Halifax-Canada” and “Ten Days in Madrid,” to promote their HI-FI equipment across 32 different countries.
He recorded his second album in November 2009 in Boston with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with musicians Lenny Peterson and Guillermo McGill. Currently, he is a member of the groups “Mixto Lobo” and “Vientos Flamencos” and accompanies artists like Remedios Amaya.

Alongside Antonio Soteldo “Musiquitas,” he composed music for the children’s dance piece “Un regalo inesperado” by La Calabaza Danza-Teatro/Sandra Bonilla, performing the music live.
Together with Antonio Soteldo and Alex Berti, Juan Diego Mateos composed the Concert Andalucia, which premiered in March 2012 with the Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO).

Discography:

• Luminaria (2003)
• Respira (2009)
• Bedallana (2018)
• Una Promesa (2023)

Musicians:

Juan Diego Mateos: Flamenco Guitar (Cádiz, Spain)
Angel Sánchez González “El Cepillo”: Percussion (Cádiz, Spain)
Ramón León Matías: Percussion (Cádiz, Spain)

Ramón León Matías, born in Antwerp to Andalusian parents from Cádiz, has been passionate about flamenco since the age of eight. Since 2004, he has lived in Roeselare and has pursued extensive percussion training. He attended local workshops in Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlúcar de Barrameda with Gerardo Núñez, music seminars at Amor de Dios in Madrid, Taller de Músics in Barcelona, and classes in Granada and Seville. He has studied with renowned teachers like Cepillo, Salvador Matías, and Bartolo de Cádiz, and participated in various flamenco festivals and gypsy celebrations in Spain.

His innate sense of rhythm is well-known, and his passion has driven him to master the various “palos” (styles) of pure flamenco. He is also experienced in other genres like pop, rock, salsa, jazz, and reggae, making him a versatile accompanist. Ramón has had the honor of collaborating with numerous musicians, singers, and dancers.

Flamenco Guitarists:
Eduardo Rebollar, Gerardo Núñez, Juan Antonio De Jerez, Juan Ramón “El Caro”, Chicuelo, José Toral, José Luis Montón, Vicente Cortés, José Luis Domínguez, Juan Bautista, Michel Gillain, Antonio Segura, Jan De Preter, José Cortés, Mario Cortés, Enrique de Melchor, Wannes Van de Velde, Rafael Sanchez, Patricio Grande, etc.
Singers: Chano Lobato, Miguel Poveda, Rafael de Utrera, Roto, Antonio Paz, Amparo Cortés, Inma González, José Cortés, Alberto García, Asunción de Córdoba, Jose Ligero, Lidia Rodriguez, Cecile Evrot, etc.
Dancers: Carmen Cortés, Javier Latorre, Isabel Pelea, Kuky, Antonio Martínez, Sofía Yero, Torre de Montijo, Ana Ramón, Julián Martín, Javier Romero, Eva Mendéz, Silvia Cabeza, Manuel Gutiérrez, Mara Martínez, Marisol Velderama, Susana Vázquez, Nina Pérez, etc.

Completed Projects: Sumari Project (José Toral), La Traviata, Dranouter Festival (Amparo Cortés), Sfinx Festival (Javier la Torre), Polé Polé (pure flamenco), Juana la loca (Eva Moreno), Tablao Flamenco Al-Andalus Alicante (Spain), Tablao Flamenco ‘El Cordobés’ (Spain), tour with Amparo Cortés in Norway and Prague, CD recordings with Enrique de Melchor, José Toral, Amparo Cortés, Serge Dacosse, Glasford Band, performances with Dani Klein (Vaya con Dios), Maurane, Iva Bittová, Marianne Aya Omac, and projects like Flamenco de Flandes, Orquesta Flamenca ARTE2, and Proyecto “Inspiración,” among others.

Ángel Sánchez González “Cepillo”, percussionist from Sanlúcar, known in the music world as “Cepillo”, has been sharing his rhythms with soloists and groups from different genres such as flamenco, rock, jazz fusion and Brazilian music since he was a young boy. What started as a pure passion quickly turned into a profession. The son of Andalusian emigrants, he has an impressive resume with numerous performances throughout Spain, taking part in the most important shows and festivals in cities such as Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, ​​Bilbao and Valencia. Some of his notable performances include those at the Veranos de la Villa in Madrid with Manolo Sanlúcar, at the Teatro Bellas Artes in Madrid with Duquende and at the Bienal de Sevilla 2000 with Tomatito and Moraíto Chico.
He is also well-known internationally, having performed in cities such as Paris, Rome, London, New York, Tokyo, Havana and Helsinki. The Jazz festivals of Montreux (Switzerland) and Grenoble (France) with Gerardo Núñez stand out in particular. He has collaborated, recorded and given courses with greats such as Gerardo Núñez, Manolo Sanlúcar, Tomatito, Duquende, Carmen Cortés, Carmen Linares, Rafael Riqueni, Esperanza Fernández, Vicente Amigo, Isidro Muñoz, José Miguel Évora, José Antonio Galicia, Javier Barón, La Tobala, Pedro Sierra, Tino di Geraldo, Perico Sambeat, Michael Brecker, Renaud García Fons and Zakir Hussain. He has even had permanent collaborations with some of them, such as in the Gerardo Núñez Trio, which in 2002 supported the cantaora Carmen Linares on her album ‘Un ramito de locura’. He has also participated in the Jazzpaña project, together with Carles Benavent, Jorge Pardo and Chano Domínguez; and in the recording of albums by groups and singers such as Enrique el Extremeño and collective projects such as ‘Gerardo Núñez presents: The New School of Flamenco Guitar’. With these he was nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards, …