Manolo Franco and Niño de Pura at the Cordoba Guitar Festival

Born in Seville in 1960, Manuel Franco Barón is a pupil of his uncle Manolo Barón and of Maestro Antonio de Osuna, with whom he received his first lessons at the age of twelve. He later continued his training at the academy of Matilde Coral, who gave him his debut at the age of 15 in the so-called Festivals of Spain. He is currently a teacher at the Rafael Orozco Conservatory in Cordoba, a pioneering centre in this field. His artistic work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Giraldillo del Toque at the 1984 Seville Biennial, the Radio Sevilla Prize for Concert Guitar, the Best Accompaniment Award at the 2002 and 2004 Biennials, the National Prize of the Jerez Chair of Flamencology in 2003 and the Compás del Cante in 2012.

Daniel Navarro Cruz, Niño de Pura, began playing the guitar at the age of seven. He began earning a living as a guitarist when he was still a child, a child prodigy who has always been noted for his prodigious technique. His career has been marked by prizes such as the National Prize for Young Flamenco Guitarists at the Seville Biennial of Flamenco Art, the Cante de las Minas National Festival in La Unión (Murcia), the Zippa de Oro awarded by the Colombian press and the Giraldillo del Toque at the Seville Biennial of Flamenco Art, Niño de Pura is a professor of flamenco guitar at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Córdoba and teaches at the Cristina Heeren Foundation for Flamenco Art, a job that he combines with his career as a guitarist and composer, recording and performing.