From May 8-17, 2015 St. Augustine celebrates its 450th year of living culture during the Romanza Festivale of the Arts featuring a celebration of music, dance, theatre, art, cuisine, heritage and romance. Dozens of
organizations in the city’s burgeoning arts community are collaborating to kick off St. Augustine’s 450th anniversary year with 10 amazing days in the nation’s most romantic city. More than 100 daily events and exhibits will include music and dance performances, concerts, art shows, dramatic productions, tours, and much more at locations throughout the city. Many events are free; admission is required for others.
Jose Feliciano to Headline
Spanish virtuoso guitarist, singer, and composer Jose Feliciano will perform May 8 in the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, a headliner for St. Augustine ‘s Romanza Festivale of the Arts 2015. Feliciano is recognized as the first Latin artist to cross over into the English language music market, opening the doors for other artists who now play an important role in the American music industry.
As importantly, Feliciano has been acclaimed by critics around the world as “the greatest living guitarist.” Referred to as “The Picasso of his Realm,” Feliciano’s accomplishments are highly celebrated. He’s been awarded more than 45 Gold and Platinum records; he has won 19 Grammy nominations, earning nine Grammy Awards, including the LARAS Award for Lifetime Achievement. ASCAP has placed Jose’s Christmas song “Feliz Navidad,” among the 25 Greatest Holiday Songs!
Guitar Player Magazine has awarded him “Best Pop Guitarist,” placing him in their “Gallery of the Greats,” and he’s been voted both “Best Jazz and Best Rock Guitarist” in the Playboy Magazine reader’s poll as well. In 1996, Jose received Billboard Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Feliciano was born blind, to humble beginnings, on September 10, 1945, in Lares, Puerto Rico. One of 11 boys, his love affair with music began at the age of three when he first accompanied his uncle on a tin cracker can. When he was five, his family immigrated to New York City. Young Jose learned to play the concertina at age six, using a handful of records as his teacher. At eight, he entertained his classmates, and at nine, performed at The Puerto Rican Theater in the Bronx. Venturing beyond the accordion, he taught himself to play the guitar with undaunted determination and again, with nothing but records as his teacher, practicing for as many as 14 hours a day.
His gifts of time, treasure and talent have earned him the reputation of great humanitarian and “Ambassador of Good Will” throughout the world.
“I’ll never forget where I came from or the people who helped my family or me along the way,” he said.
For this reason, he will often lend a hand or his name in support of causes that he believes are important. Although Feliciano has recorded nearly 70 albums in his impressive career, he is still humble with all the successes he has had and, remarkably, feels that he has just started to share his talents with the world.
Tickets are now on sale at RomanzaFestivale.com and at the Amphitheatre. For more about St. Augustine’s Romanza Festivale of the Arts, go to www.romanzafestivale.com.
