While San Diego is not yet known for its flamenco guitar music, there are a number of artists who are beginning to make an impact. Chief among them is Oscar Aragon, who performs at Café Sevilla each month. Club patrons will find him playing during the dinner hour on Thursdays and Sundays as well as being part of a flamenco show alongside dancer Rocio Carrera on Fridays.
Originally a resident of Guadalajara, Mexico, it’s been a lifelong journey in his quest to learn about the guitar. “I fell in love with this music the first time I heard it,” explained Aragon. “I started taking lessons when I was 17 and devoted myself to it.” His travels eventually led him through San Diego in the ’80s, followed by an extended stint in Spain, returning to Mexico in the early ’90s. Despite forming an award-winning group, Los Iberico’s, Aragon soon headed back to San Diego. An interesting choice considering the market for flamenco music was practically non-existent at the time, but his perseverance has paid off in his decade-plus here.
Though flamenco has a minimal local media presence, and even at a venue like Sevilla can be relegated to background atmosphere, Aragon isn’t discouraged. Having established himself as a local, from his vantage point, things are getting better. “The interest is increasing,” he remarked. “More and more people are getting fascinated by it. Especially when it’s played in tandem with a dancer, it really affects people. There’s a lot going on, a lot to take in.”
While Aragon enjoys performing, it’s teaching that he loves most. He and his partner Carrera recently opened Paloma Aragon (1214 28th St.), a studio dedicated to flamenco music and dance. “What means the most to me is the idea of passing the baton to the next generation of performers,” he remarked. “I want to be able to share my knowledge of this music.” He has put together several combos over the years, including an Orquesta, but prefers playing solo. “It’s easier to do a show,” he joked. “Bigger things are good, but they take that much more effort and at the moment the studio is a big priority for me.”
In the meantime Aragon remains a firm favorite at corporate events as well as local venues ranging from The Lyceum Theatre to City College’s Saville Theatre and is currently in the studio working on a follow-up album to his 2005 debut, “Vida,” due to be released next summer. “It’s all originals,” he points out. “I could record older material, but in this way I feel I’m contributing more to the genre.” The album should greatly increase his profile, but many musicians have already fallen under the spell of Aragon’s deft acoustic guitar work. Major Mexican rockers Mana paid him the ultimate compliment, by inviting him to join them for a show at Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre in 2002. Meanwhile a growing fan base has kept on the road over the years with regular trips up the West Coast as well as making inroads into Las Vegas.
Aragon is indeed very serious about his craft but does let loose musically from time to time. Though in club performances he sticks close to his set list mixing classic traditional tunes with similarly styled originals, he does admit to stretching his repertoire a bit, occasionally, for private functions. At those times, he has fun playing modern songs in the flamenco form. “A friend and I sometimes will play a party and we do some Beatles tunes in the style,” he laughed. “It always goes over big. People always seem surprised that it can be done.”