Agustin Barrios Mangore

Bio:

Oh where to begin. Let's see. Well, setting aside my penchant for noble humility for a moment, let me begin this little zapateado by saying that I was probably the greatest virtuoso guitarist/composer of the twentienth century. I hope this doesn't sound villianously brazen of me. Don't get me wrong, the twentienth century had its fair share of magnanimous guitar innovators, but I really had a certain flair, panache, verve, and of course, incredible technical mastery of the guitar. It's quite dificult, and probably philosophically foolish, to compare musical expressions; for each is really a whole universe unto itself, and so I don't want to get snagged on the nasty habit of saying who is better than who or what is better than what or of using gratuitous superlatives. So let's just say this: I believe my guitar works and my copious guitar performances to be ontological expressions of the very highest quality, and I believe this separates them from the bouillabaise of medioce guitar stylings that one is likely to encounter in this confusing and bemusing modern world. But enough about that. Let me just give you a few details of my life, and then, you can create your own interior portrait of me, and then we'll call it the millenium. I was born into a family that really valued literature and music, and the general sublimity of creative human endeavor, and this certainly got me off to a good start as an artist. I started playing the guitar at a very early age in my lovely hometown, San Juan Batista de las Misiones. O the thought of the place fills me with rapturous nostalgia. I was educated in a Jesuit school, which forged in me a great passionate discipline that I was able to use in my musical studies. By age 13, I was recognized as a prodigy and given a scholarship to attend the Colegio Nacional in Asuncion. One thing I want you to understand is that I was a man of many shades and tints. During my school days, besides music, I also earned recognition in mathematics, journalism, literature, calligraphy, and philosophy. I spoke Guarani and read French, English, and German. I went through a phase of theosophical investigation and developed a keen curiosity for poetry. I guess the point is that I had many intellectual and artistic interests in my younger years, all of which congealed into my primary passion: the guitar. As a guitarist and a composer I wrote over 300 pieces and toured South and Central America and Europe until my death, from which I am still grieving. I implore you to take a look at my works and to support the art of the guitar, which after all, is an instrument that functions like a small orchestra, possessing so many aural possibilities.

Member Since:

October 31, 2006

Record Label:

unsigned