Profile

Gustavo Alonso López is a North American flamenco guitarist located in Walla Walla, WA. His music is grounded in traditional flamenco and incorporates elements of jazz, classical, and world music. His fascination with music and the guitar began early, and he picked up the instrument in earnest at the age of 19. Starting on electric guitar, his focus switched to flamenco after a few years. His initial curiosity towards flamenco quickly became a full-fledged obsession, as he was enamored with the strength, depth, and complexity of the art form.

Initially self-taught, Gustavo refined his playing with several of North America’s top players. In spring of 2014, he independently recorded Punto Lejano, a full-length studio album, at Empty Sea Studios in Seattle, WA. The album was performed by a 6-piece, instrumental ensemble and consists of four long-form pieces.

In 2017, Gustavo was awarded a Fulbright performing arts fellowship to pursue intensive instrument training in Sevilla, Spain, at the Fundacion Cristina Heeren de Arte Flamenco. Here he deepened his knowledge of flamenco under the tutelage of master guitarists Pedro Sierra, Pedro Barragán, and Paco Cortés. As part of his Fulbright work, Gustavo launched Palabras Flamencas (Flamenco Words) in early 2018, a website presenting a collection of interviews with Spanish flamenco artists and members of the international flamenco community. After Fulbright, he continued his studies of flamenco with maestro Eduardo Rebollar of Artes Escénicas Rebollar.

In 2022, Gustavo commenced work on his second studio album. This project is set for release in spring of 2023, and includes an international team of collaborators. He was recently awarded a Dan Dunn Memorial Grant by ArtWalla, a non-profit arts organization in Walla Walla, WA, for his work on this new project.

Gustavo’s main musical references include Paco de Lucía, Pepe Habichuela, Manolo Sanlúcar, Tomatito, Sabicas, Rafael Riqueni, and Miguel Ángel Cortés. In addition to his love of flamenco, he is a fan of jazz, classical, rock, and world music. He enjoys playing with artists from these different traditions. Born and raised in Twin Falls, ID, he has lived many places throughout the United States and abroad. Las Vegas, NV; Turin, Italy; St. Louis, MO; Barcelona, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Seattle, WA; Sevilla, Spain; and Austin, TX, have all been called home at one time or another. Gustavo also holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture. He is a registered architect in Texas and Washington State, and continues his work as an architect.