Classical flamenco duo rising from Mexican heavy metal band

Internationally acclaimed Mexican acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela plays unique instrumental blend of flamenco, jazz, and world music.

Before they became the front-running guitar duo of the 2000s, Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero bonded over heavy metal while growing up in Mexico City. They combined their talents as members of a metal group playing in the roughest clubs the city had to offer. As Gabriela remembers it:

Though the metal band recorded some material, it never resulted in any official releases. Instead, Sánchez and Quintero concentrated on learning guitar styles and playing bossa-nova music in bars. They initially played what they knew, covering Led Zeppelin and Metallica, in bars and on the streets.

Then the duo began fiddling with their own riffs, with Sánchez handling melody and Quintero taking on percussion and rhythm, often trying to copy the flamenco music she always loved but never learned to play classically.

These days, Rodrigo y Gabriela have won the hearts of music lovers from the haciendas of Cuba to the Hollywood Bowl and summer festivals of Europe, as they continue to weave their unique six-string magic.