Rene Heredia - Alborada Flamenca

Scalding flamenco from one of Sabicas' students.




“The guitar playing of René Heredia is in the finest tradition of flamenco, creating a flaming intensity that cannot fail to arouse.”  —Denver Post


“If any musician on the local Denver scene deserves the moniker of legend, it would have to be René Heredia. Simply put, the man is a living history of the art of Gypsy flamenco guitar. He is both a link to its glorious past through his early association with legendary greats such as Carlos Montoya and Sabicas, and a bridge to its future through his love of teaching and performance…. René Heredia is an artist who is as passionate about the music as the music is itself…. René is a local artist of international stature … without a doubt, one of the greatest proponents of flamenco guitar music alive today….” —Classically Speaking, Music for All


“René Heredia is the most sensational young flamenco guitarist in the United States.” —Sabicas


“The audience wouldn’t let him quit.” —Los Angeles Times


“René Heredia is a brilliant guitarist.” —Walter Terry, New York Saturday Review

René with Sabicas

René and his Flamenco guitar have been together for so many years of his lifetime that there seems to be no separation of the two.  He formed a bond with the guitar as a child.  His life, his character, his loves and aspirations have all developed through the instrument.


He began his training with his father, a Gitano Puro (pure Gypsy).  As a boy, René was taught the rudiments of Flamenco Guitar and Spanish Gypsy Dance.  He brings a unique view of both sides of the art form to his audience. 


As a little boy, René remembers always having the house full of flamencos such as Carlos Montoya, Vicente Escudero, Mario Escudero, José Greco’s dance Company, Carmen Amaya, Sabicas, La Chunga and her Company.  They were\all close friends of José Heredia and his family.  Sabicas would help and teach René the secrets of Flamenco at his mother’s kitchen table.


At thirteen, he was performing with his sisters, Fátima, Sarita, Zoraida, Carmen, and brother Enrique.  “Los Heredia” were doing concerts, television shows and supper club performances.  His international recognition came when he was seventeen and the incomparable Flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya (Spain’s greatest dancer of this century) heard him play.  She immediately took him to be her lead guitarist.  He toured many years doing concerts in the major capitals of Europe and the United States with the famous Amaya Ballet.  While he was in Spain, René was invited to perform with the singing and motion picture star Antoñita Moreno, in “Los Reinos de España”.  He was then invited to perform in the Festival de Cante Grande with Fosforito, Jarrito, Juanito Varea, Chocolate, and Gordito de Triana; some of Spain’s most outstanding singers.  As his reputation grew, the famous Spanish dancer José Greco invited him to be his lead guitarist for several seasons.  René has played for such outstanding dancers as El Güito, Mario Maya, Los Pelaos, Manuela Vargas, Luisita Triana, María Rosa, Ciros, Rosa Montoya, Lutys de Luz, María Benitez, Los Heredia, and many more.


While living in Paris, René’s distinguished L.P. album, Alborada Flamenca, was awarded the Gran Prix de Disque of France.  In the United States, René was invited to perform the world premiere of his symphony composition and Flamenco suite for Guitar and Orchestra “Alborada Gitana”(a Farruca), which he performed with the Denver Symphony and Denver Chamber Orchestra at Red Rocks Amphitheater.


René has performed live concerts and T.V. shows with his Flamenco Fusion Group and his Flamenco Fantasy Dance Theatre.  He performed solo concerts at such prestigious venues as New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall four years in a row, where he received standing ovations; the Champs Elysee Theatre in Paris; Westminster Theatre in London; Teatro Barcelona; Teatro La Zarzuela and Teatro Maravilla in Madrid, Spain; and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.


René has performed concerts with his Flamenco Fantasy Dance Theatre in Kansas City, where he was awarded the “Keys to the City”  (sister city of Seville, Spain).  He was recognized as one of Colorado’s best-known composers in a special tribute to Colorado artists at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.


René was awarded the prestigious Governor’s Award of Colorado for excellence in performance and education, as well as the Mayor’s Award of Denver for excellence in the arts.  He has done command performances for such dignitaries as Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, Armand Hammer, Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, Queen Noor of Jordan, and Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.


René was invited to be the lead guitarist and guest artist with Stewart Copeland, founder of “The Police” in his national tour of the U.S.A. in “The Rhythmatists”.  René was invited by Colorado Performing Arts Center to be the musical director for the play “Romeo and Juliet” (set to early colonial California).


René has appeared on numerous national radio and television shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show with Duke Ellington, The Steve Allen Show with Sabicas, and The Art Linkletter Show with Donald O’Connor and Abbie Laine, The George Goble and Eddie Fisher Show with Carmen Amaya, and The Ann Southern Show with César Romero.  René appeared in the Spanish Movie “Balcón de Luna” with Paquita Rico, Carmen Sevilla, and Lola Flores.  His N.E.T. concert specials and opening acts for such outstanding artists as Bill Cosby, Hal Linden, and Peter Nero have put René in the forefront as one of the leading Flamenco Guitarists in the United States today.   

Rene Heredia - Alborada Flamenca

Label: Gypsy Productions, Inc.

Tracks: see below

sizzle, my nizzle.

mp3 >256vbr | w/ scans | 76mb

*out-of-print & impossible to find