Silverio Franconetti Aguila was born in Seville in 1831, but grew up in the place where his mother was born, Moron de la Frontera, a small town in the province of Seville. He was a legendary singer who was honored as being the first non-gypsy cantaor to receive any serious attention on the flamenco scene.

Sergio Aranda Santos isprobably the best dancer Málaga has produced for many years. This young “bailaor” (flamenco dancer) is set for a bright future, his dance is choreographed but not overly polished, and he has “compas” (the much-coveted flamenco rhythm)and “gracia” (natural grace), two important elements of flamenco dance.

Sara Pereyra Baras was born in Cadiz in 1971 and from an early age received dance instruction from her mother. She had her first dance lessons at La Tertulia Flamenca de la Isla, in San Fernando, an academy that was run by her mother Concha Vargas and after this she joined Los Niños de la Tertulia Flamenco, where she served her apprenticeship as a flamenco dancer.

Augustín Castellón Campos or Sabicas as he was artistically known, was the first and probably the most well-known flamenco guitarist outside of Spain. He was born in Pamplona in 1913, although like many gypsy artists there is much speculation over his date of birth and some put it at 1907.

Jose Fernandez Granados was born in 1915, in Utrera, a small flamenco enclave just a few miles outside of Seville. Along with other heavyweight jondo singers like La Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera, El Perrate brought the Utrera style of flamenco to the attention of the outside world.

Maria Fernandez Granados was born in Utrera in 1922, but she was not to become a professional singer until rather late in her life, she made her first recording with her sons when she was in her late fifties. Maria la Perrata, who was the sister of El Perrate and the cousin of La Fernanda de Utrera, married Bernardo Peña, and moved to Lebrija, the town where she spent the rest of her life.

Pedro Peña is one of today's most respected flamenco guitarists, and with his background and schooling there is no wonder he is also one of the most sought after guitarists, especially with the gypsies singers of Jerez and Lebrija.

Pedro Peña is one of today's most respected flamenco guitarists, and with his background and schooling there is no wonder he is also one of the most sought after guitarists, especially with the gypsies singers of Jerez and Lebrija.

Pedro Bacán (Pedro Peña Peña) was born in Lebrija, Seville, in 1951, and like most gypsies from this part of Andalucía, flamenco was a natural ingredient in the process of growing up. He was born into one of the most illustrious flamenco clans of the last two centuries. He is the great grandson of the legendary singer El Pinini, son of cantaor, Bastian Bacán, and nephew of La Perrata.

In full production mode with a new CD in the works, Pasión Vega made time in her diary to tell us that she feels very “Andaluz”, with a special soft spot for her hometown of Malaga. She would love to sing a duet with Manolo Garcia and tells us that she loves to be free to express herself with her voice through a wide variety of different styles.

Genius, maestro, virtuoso, even God, are all words that have been used to describe one of the most idolised guitarists in the history of flamenco. His real name was Francisco Sánchez Gómez, and as John Lennon would be to classic pop lovers or Pavarotti to classical music fans so was Paco de Lucía to followers of flamenco guitar.

Paco del Gastor is one of the most outstanding descendants of Diego del Gastor, and he was the first member of the Gastor dynasty to leave Moron de la Frontera, heading to Madrid to make a name for himself as a professional musician. He was born in Morón in 1944 and his father Francisco, who was the brother of Diego del Gastor.

Manuel Serrapi Sanchez or Niño Ricardo, was born in Seville in 1909 and has inspired many of today's guitarists. Many flamenco guitarists use techniques that were created by Niño Ricardo and he is quite possibly the most respected and worshiped flamenco guitarist of the last one hundred years.

Manuel Moreno Junquera was born into the heart of the flamenco guitar world in 1956. His family is connected to some of the most illustrious names to come from Jerez de la Frontera, and his father, Juan Morao, and his uncle, Manuel Morao, are two of the most renowned guitarists to descend from this old sherry town.

Melchor Jiménez Torres arrived into the world in 1907, and by a very young age it was obvious that flamenco was part of his body. He eventually received the nickname, Melchor de Marchena, and has been noted as just about the best accompanist in flamenco history.

Matilda Corrales Gonzalez, who was born in Seville in 1935, is a dancer of the purest and most profound qualities of the baile flamenco. As a child Matilda Coral was greatly influenced by Pastora Imperio, a person whom she would perform with and also someone she would learn so much from.

María del Monte Tejado Algaba is an Andalucian folk singer and TV and radio hostess. She's known as "La Reina de las Sevillanas" (The Queen of the Sevillanas).

Manuela Carrasco was born in Triana, Seville, in 1958, and from her early childhood displayed a natural instinct for flamenco dance. She was born into a family of gypsy flamenco artistes, her father José Carrasco, El Sordo, was an excellent dancer and Manuela learned the rudiments of the “baile flamenco” from simply being surrounded by the flamenco scene of Triana.

Manuel Soto Loreto was born in 1878 in Jerez de la Frontera, in the surroundings of the cattle ranches and vineyards where his parents worked. He would frequent the areas of the Barrio Santiago and San Miguelin Jerez, where he would absorb the flamenco styles of Enrique el Mellizo and other great masters of that era.

Manuel Ortega Juárez was born at nº 10 Lumbreras street, Seville, in 1910 and died in a car accident in Madrid in 1973. He has been described as the “drunkest, wildest, most argumentative flamenco of them all”, but he has also gone down in history as being one of the greatest singers of his time.