Mexico City, MX · acoustic · flamenco-metal

Rodrigo y Gabriela

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Two acoustic guitars, metal souls — percussion, shred, and joy, thrash riffs reborn as flamenco fireworks.

Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero met at fifteen at a Mexico City cultural center where Sánchez's brother worked, bonding over music before becoming a couple. In the early 1990s Sánchez formed a thrash metal band, Tierra Ácida, with his brother, and Quintero joined in 1993. When a record deal fell through in 1997, the pair left for the beach town of Ixtapa to play bars before heading to Europe.

They settled in Dublin in 1999 without speaking English, busking on Grafton Street with covers before adding original material. Musician Damien Rice invited them to open his shows and introduced them to manager Niall Muckian. They recorded a demo, Foc, in 2001, then re-recorded it as re-Foc the following year with guest musicians including Lisa Hannigan.

Their music pairs Sánchez's lead lines with Quintero's percussive rhythm playing, in which she strikes the guitar body while strumming, drawing on flamenco technique, Latin American folk forms and the metal they grew up on. They are known for instrumental originals as well as acoustic arrangements of metal and rock songs.

The duo has recorded with a Cuban orchestra and contributed to film soundtracks, and their 2020 album Mettavolution won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Their most recent record, In Between Thoughts…A New World, came out in 2023. They have toured internationally, playing venues including Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the White House for President Barack Obama.

Sánchez and Quintero were a couple for years before ending the romantic side of their relationship in 2012, choosing to continue playing together. Quintero has said the split let them grow up and become, in her words, better friends.

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acousticflamenco-metal