Meet Jose Luis de la Paz | Guitarist, Composer, Producer and Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jose Luis de la Paz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jose Luis, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
When I first held a guitar in my hands, I was barely 4 months old. From that moment on, that wooden object with strings attached itself to my hands. Over the years, what was a toy in my early childhood also became the way in which I could express myself and tell my emotions. Being an artist was inevitable, it is my vocation and my way of understanding life.
Music is a universe in which magical worlds, emotions, thoughts or mathematics, science and the spirit coexist; And I feel so connected to it that I can’t stop doing what I do every day… understand, touch, listen, imagine, feel.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My training was based on the old school of flamenco music and classical music, at a time when jazz was the biggest influence on the guitarists of my generation. Although I was not oblivious to it, my sound immediately began to be different.

I started with flamenco fans, flamenco festivals and guitarists. Flamenco aficionados were very supportive of tradition and highly valued “imitating” established patterns and shapes. But my musical curiosity did not allow me to keep doing and always repeating the same thing. I was looking for sounds, ideas and musical developments and adapted them to the flamenco form. I was torn between acceptance in the flamenco world and criticism for playing very cleanly and with a natural dexterity that I had since I was a child. They told me that it sounded too much like a classical guitar or that it sounded “little flamenco”. And I had to work a lot to achieve status as a flamenco guitarist.

But it was my arrival in the company of Cristina Hoyos, a choreographer teacher, that put me in front of a great challenge: adapt the way of playing as a soloist (which was always my vocation) and unite it with the strength and forcefulness of the guitar accompanying the dance. . I spent months, years, working, almost non-stop.

After each performance with the ballet I would go to the hotel to study for hours to “soften” the technique and compose music integrating all those techniques.

All of that really created my own style, and that which makes up my artistic personality.

Life is a race to the bottom. Insistence, perseverance, patience and faith in oneself are key to overcoming obstacles in life. You fall, you cry, you break, you look ahead and keep going. If something really is what fills you in life and it is your vocation, you will continue and you will fall and you will get up again. I don’t think I’m special, and at the same time I know I am… I mean… we’re all special.

Success is not measured in terms of numbers, it is not measured in fans, it is not measured in how many people follow you on instagram.

Success consists in your own improvement, in living the process and enjoying it, in feeling happiness every time I go on stage, every time I compose something new, every time I share my music with someone.

That is success for me. The rest is circumstantial.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
To eat: Equs, Xixon, Sushi Ko, Versailles, Bulla… food in Miami is good everywhere.

Arts: Wynwood, Vizcaya, Spanish Monaster, Everglades, Beaches.

To see flamenco, Cava Restaurant is the best place.

Music: La Trova, Alfaro, Mani, Books&Books, Lagniappe, The Corner…

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In my artistic life many people have influenced and inspired me.

My Mentor Mario Escudero (legendary flamenco guitarist), Paco de Lucia, Niño Miguel and Manolo Sanlucar (guitarists and perhaps the best triad of flamenco musicians in history).

Later… Cristina Hoyos, Belen Maya, Siudy Garrido, Camaron de la Isla, Enrique Morente, Manolo Marin (choreographer)… all of them great flamenco artists with whom I shared at some point.

At different stages of my life, any artist that touches my heart has become part of my inspiration… from Mozart, Mahler or Beethoven to Dalí, Picasso, Goya or Miguel Angello.

But, perhaps, the most special person in my life and who marked my relationship with the guitar was my father, who knew right away that the guitar was part of me, that.

He opened the key so that I could open doors by myself and discover flamenco, music, the guitar…

Website: www.joseluisdelapaz.com

Instagram: joseluisguitar

Facebook: joseluisguitar

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JOSELUISDELAPAZ

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3jtwJddFiQJMwoDZUY0s9o

Image Credits
Photos by Jose Manuel Alconchel / Kike San Martin / Estefania de Torres