Guillermo Guillén
Guitar + Flamenco + Music
Guillermo Guillén is an exquisitely artful and eclectic flamenco guitarist, composer and arranger whose sensitivity and creativity make him a highly sought-after musical collaborator for live performances and studio work, from the most traditional flamenco to adventurous experimental projects.
Biography & Artistic career
Born and raised in France, Guillén trained in Spain, and has performed and taught flamenco internationally for over 20 years. He currently lives in the New York City area. Guillermo Guillén is the founder of FlamencoMaps, the online educational and teaching resource center and YouTube channel. Thousands of flamenco lovers from around the world have benefited from his highly effective classes and instructional videos.
Guillermo Guillén began his career as a flamenco guitarist in France, in 1999, before moving to Seville, Spain, the heart of flamenco, in 2006.
From 2007 to 2011, Guillén teamed up with the renowned flamenco singer Rocío Márquez and developed a great mastery of accompanying flamenco cante (singing) and baile (dance). The pair were awarded the prestigious “Lámpara Minera” prize at the International Festival del Cante de Las Minas de La Union (2008). Guillén and Márquez subsequently toured internationally and recorded several albums together.
Guillén has accompanied celebrated flamenco artists worldwide including Ismael “de la Rosa” Fernández, Sonia Olla, Raúl Micó, Francisco Contreras “El Niño de Elche”, La Lupi, José Galván, Esperanza Fernández, Lidón Patiño, Irene Lozano “la Chiqui de Málaga”, Isaac de los Reyes or Antonio Molina “El Choro.”
Performing in countless shows in theaters, flamenco peñas and tablaos (clubs), Guillén has also been featured at famous festivals and venues in Spain and abroad, such as:
Festival del Cante de Las Minas de La Unión, Festival de Jerez, Flamenco Viene Del Sur, Los Veranos de la Villa de Madrid (Spain), Arte Flamenco de Mont-de-Marsan, Festival La Folle Journée de Nantes (France), Festival La Folle Journée d’Ekaterinburg (Russia), Vancouver International Flamenco Festival (Canada), London Festival Dance Umbrella (UK), Mawazine de Rabat (Morocco) , Silk Road Festival (Syria), No Siesta, Fiesta! Festival Tromsø (Norway), New York City Flamenco Festival, Chicago Flamenco Festival, “Soundscapes of Spain: From Flamenco Roots to Fusion” at the Berklee Performance Center (USA), as well as performances in Austria, Portugal, Ibiza, Canary Islands, England, Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Morocco, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Russia, Japan, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, etc.
Guillén has worked as composer and arranger for international flamenco companies: “Cía Adriana Bilbao” (Spain), “Cía Helena Cueto” (France/Spain), “Cía Samantha Alcón” (France/Spain), and “Cía Flamenca La Caramelita” (Canada/France/Spain).
Guillen has taught students at workshops worldwide, and worked as a teacher and accompanist with Esperanza Fernández and Miguel Vargas at the Flamenco Arts Center of Seville, Spain (2010-2012).
Guillén has also produced his own works including the critically acclaimed: ”De Viajes – Guillermo Guillén Flamenco Trio,” at the “No Siesta, Fiesta Festival” in Tromsø (Norway – 2013), and the album “Cinco” with his Urban Flamenco Jazz sextet PLAN F, mixing flamenco with hip hop, electro music and jazz. In 2019, he premiered a new progressive flamenco experimental group, AONC TRIO, at the Festival Arte Flamenco de Mont de Marsan (France), which wins the “DG Cajón Contest 2017” competition, “Best Group Performance” category.
Collaborations with musicians from global cultures include: “Zambra Morisca” with the Moroccan singer Samira Kadiri, ”Clay” with the American contemporary dancer Asha Thomas and British flamenco dancer Yinka Esi Graves, “Burdina/Hierro” con flamenco dancer Adriana Bilbao and free jazz French singer Beñat Achiary, “Noche en Sevilla” with the French classical string quartet “Quatuor Vélasquez”, and “Nritya” with the Indian-Canadian dancer Deborah Dawson.
The Syrian-American singer-songwriter Faraj Abyad asked Guillén to record, in 2022, at the legendary Avatar Studio Power Station at BerkleeNYC to bring the flamenco color to his new production of Arabic music and poetry, “Kisses of Poetry”.
In 2023, the Cuban jazz pianist Elio Villafranca, invited Guillén to perform in his new work “Tres Aguas,” with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra conducted by Wynton Marsalis, with renowned Cuban jazz saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera.
In 2021, Guillén founded FlamencoMaps, the online educational and teaching resource center and YouTube channel. Thousands of flamenco lovers from around the world have benefited from his highly effective classes and instructional videos.