(headline image: Antonio González – photo by Celia Carmona)
Antonio González Reyes was born on 24 May 1999 in Chipiona, a coastal town in the province of Cádiz, Spain. His interest in music, and the flamenco guitar in particular, appeared around the age of eleven. At that time he began formal studies with his first teacher, Juan Gómez, also from Chipiona. He later continued his training with several renowned masters from Jerez de la Frontera, including José Luis Balao and Manuel Lozano “El Carbonero”, among others.
A decisive moment in his development came in 2019 through his encounter with Maestro Manolo Sanlúcar. In that year González was welcomed into the maestro’s home and started to receive direct instruction from him, which opened an important new stage in his musical career.
González currently performs as guitarist in the latest tour of singer Mayte Martín with her project In Illo Tempore. He is also involved in the upcoming project of dancer Jesús Carmona, titled Algarabía. In addition, he serves as guitarist and composer for the recently premiered production by acclaimed bailaora La Lupi, Lo Inédito.
Over the course of his career he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Arcángel, Belén López, El Choro, Mario Morente, Carmen La Talegona, Paula Comitre, Eduardo Guerrero, Niño De Los Reyes, Concha Vargas, Pedro Córdoba, Mercedes De Córdoba, Antonia Jiménez, Miguel Lavi, El Londro, Florián, Constantino García, Juglares Carrasco, Juan Debl, the Orquesta Sinfónica De La Ucam, Juan Diego Mateos, Cia Antonio Márquez, Carmen Grilo, and Helena Martín, among others.
In January 2026 he was announced as one of the 8 finalists of the III Paco de Lucía Flamenco SGAE Award.
Antonio González will be competing with his composition La lectura (The Reading). This piece was inspired by the painting “The Reading” or “Men Reading” by Francisco de Goya, from his Black Paintings series. “This composition stems from an ongoing creative project in which I am attempting to set each of the fourteen works in this Black Paintings series to music, with the aim of creating my first album based on these works. This, among other reasons, explains my interest in participating in this competition to launch this project.”
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.