Let’s all pause to celebrate the birthday of Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza – better known as Spanish American flamenco guitarist, actress, singer, comedian, Las Vegas headliner, perennial “special guest star” on 1970s TV shows like The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, Donny & Marie, Love Boat and Fantasy Island, beloved kitsch icon and “Cuchi Cuchi Girl” Charo! Bear in mind the actual birth date of the birthday girl is shrouded in mystery. Charo’s Wikipedia page devotes an entire section to “Birth year controversy.” (Her Spanish birth certificate and passport state 13 March 1941, but weirdly her preferred “show biz birthday” is 15 January 1951 – so in theory we can celebrate Charo’s birthday twice a year!). Anyway, if you don’t follow her on Instagram already do yourself a favour - the woman is a joyous ray of sunshine! “Cuchi cuchi!” Pictured: pinup of Charo by Steve Schapiro, 1976.
The flamenco guitar is a Spanish fretted string instrument. It has 6 strings, held flat against the player's torso, plucked with each finger on the right hand, while fretted with the left. The style flamenco guitar players use to pluck is called toque. The flamenco guitar is similar to the classical guitar. The key differences between the two are the flamenco guitar’s lower action, thinner neck and thinner body. Flamenco guitars are made with the idea of fast and easy playing in mind, while the classical guitar is made around the idea of clearer tone.
WENT TO A CONCERT! AAAAAaaaaaAAHHHHHHH!! I have barely attended any indoor event since COVID started. and I'm alll
we shall see if I have contracted Covid. despite wearing an N99 mask for 3 hours straight without removing it. I yelled and sang and shouted and danced in that fucking thing.
A guitar I’ve been working on (and a lot of fun to do!) I converted this ancient acoustic guitar into an occasionally used ‘Build-up’ slide-Blues guitar a couple of years back, but decided to convert it into something I could use more regularly. I’ve added nylon ball-end strings, as I usually play classical and flamenco guitars rather than guitars with steel strings and have altered & lowered the action, so the guitar has a bit more ‘give’ and I can get the kind of versatility I get from a flamenco guitar. One of the frets needed a bit of resetting as was dislodging slightly. I’ve put the guitar into my usual DGCFAD tuning to suit my voice and in the photo the capo on the 2nd fret puts the guitar back into standard tuning.
The idea behind this guitar is to have a loud acoustic/classical hybrid which has the flexibility of a Flamenco guitar & possesses clout and presence. There’s some nice warm tones (& very loud ones) I can get from this! ⭐️
Guitarra española: la esencia y versatilidad del sonido español
La guitarra española es un instrumento reconocido por su rica tradición y versatilidad sonora. Con una historia que se remonta siglos atrás, en España encontramos una amplia variedad de guitarras con características distintas y adaptadas a diferentes estilos de música. Desde las clásicas y flamencas hasta las electroclásicas, acústicas y eléctricas, cada una ofrece un sonido único y especial. En…