Cardamomo > Artists > Vaky Losada (Madrid)

Vaky Losada (Madrid)

Guitarist

José Luis Fernández Losada, guitarist and composer, whose artistic name is Vaky Losada, was born into a family of guitarists. As a percussionist, and at the young age of 7, he shared the stage with his 12 year old brother Diego, a gifted guitarist with whom he formed a duo and earned several prizes in national competitions.

At the age of 8 he played in the Teatro Chino de Manolita Chen and Antonio Encinas, playing a couple of works accompanied by a symphonic orchestra. When he was 10, he was asked by Maíto, great presenter and journalist of the radio programme La voz de Madrid, to play the famous work by Paco de Lucía Entre dos aguas with his brother Diego, at the presentation of the gold record to the great guitarist.

At the age of 16 his professional career took off at the famous flamenco theatre Los Canasteros of Manolo Caracol, playing with the most famous artists at the time -Juan Ramírez, La Paquera de Jerez, Amina, La Chana…-. The following year he toured Italy with the Dance company of José and Carmela Greco, and continued touring with the company Flamencos en Route with Antonio Alonso, with Flamenco artists from all over the world (Swiss, Norwegian, Finnish, Spanish…). He then joined the company of renowned Flamenco dancer Luisillo, acting in China, Korea and Singapore. With his brother Diego, he formed the musical Makandé collaborating with jazz musicians and a Flamenco singer called Diego, currently known as El Cigala. They presented a revolutionary concert of young Flamenco artists called Cumbre Flamenca, at the Teatro Alcalá Palace de Madrid. He then formed the group Flamenco Fusión, with members as important as Jorge Pardo, Carlos Benavent, Rubén Dantas, La Susi and the virtuoso dancer Raúl, presenting his first concert in the teatro Monumental of Madrid. He came into contact with the famous Japanese Flamenco dancer Shoji Kojima and worked with him in Japan, where he also recorded the album On the road (1988) with international trumpet player Terumasa Hino. This first album was then followed by Pa llorar de momento (1991), Arte y pasión (1993), Tú estás en el aire (1996) and Corazones rotos (1998). Since 1986 and for the next 14 years he joined as guitarist for concert Paco Peña, with whom he gave master classes and concerts all over the world (Europe, Australia, Japan, China, Alaska, USA, Latin America…). He performed in the Festival Internacional de Guitarra Flamenca de Córdoba in 1989, 1991 and 1993; during that time he gave a performance for Diana, Princess of Wales, at Kensington Palace. In 2000 he performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, sharing the stage with Montserrat Caballé; and he joined, as a polyfacetic musician, the company of Flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortés, acting in his shows Alma gitana, Soul and Cibayí, where, as well as the guitar, he played the Arab lute, the electric bass and the mandolin. As of 2003 he formed his own company with his brothers Diego and Tito and performed the first Flamenco musical under the name Las mil y una noches at the teatro La Latina de Madrid, releasing an album that same year. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that, throughout his career, Vaky Losada has worked with national artists such as Antonio Canales, Sara Baras, Cristobal Reyes, La Tolea, Merche Esmeralda, Tomatito, Antonio Carmona, el Guadiana, El Indio Gitano, El Chato de la Isla… and with international figures from other genres such as Robi Rosa (Draco), John Williams, Jennifer López and producer Pino Sagliocco.