Renowned Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia dies at 66
Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia plays a guitar during a rehearsal of closing concert of the Biennial of Flamenco in the Andalusian capital of Seville October 9, 2010. CREDIT: REUTERS/MARCELO DEL POZO Paco de Lucia, the influential Spanish guitarist who vastly expanded the international audience for flamenco and merged it with other musical styles, died suddenly on Wednesday of a heart attack in Mexico. The 66-year-old virtuoso, as happy playing seemingly impossible syncopated flamenco rhythms as he was improvising jazz or classical guitar, helped to legitimize flamenco in Spain itself at a time when it was shunned by the mainstream. "I learned the guitar like a child learns to speak," the guitarist said in a 2012 documentary. Born Francisco Sanchez Gomez, he became famous in the 1970s after recording bestselling album "Entre Dos Aguas", becoming the first flamenco musician to perform at Madrid's op...