Rodrigo y Gabriela

August 26, 2018
Mesa Arts Center
Mesa, Arizona

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Photo by Renae Karlquist - torenka.com
Rodrigo y Gabriela – Photo by Renae Karlquist – torenka.com

Rodrigo y Gabriela are arguably the most prominent flamenco guitarists touring the globe today. And they graced a near capacity crowd at the beautiful Mesa Arts Center on August 26, 2018. If you are not a fan of flamenco music you certainly would be after hearing Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero perform. They may be best known for “Diablo Rojo” which has gained plenty of airtime over the past few years, but they have also contributed to soundtracks for Pirates of the Caribbean and Puss in Boots to name a few.

Gabriela Quintero - Photo by Toby Karlquist - torenka.com
Gabriela Quintero – Photo by Toby Karlquist – torenka.com

Rodrigo y Gabriela grew up and played together in a metal band in Mexico City. They learned new styles and moved to Dublin where they released their first album in 2003. Flash forward through several years traveling through Europe, Japan and Cuba and 4 additional albums later and here we are in Mesa. While the duo used to date, they found it worked much better to just be friends although you would never know it the way they play off of each other. Passion exudes from both Rodrigo and Gabriela when they are onstage. They make guitar playing look effortless with nimble fingers and fast hands. They played a variety of songs from their catalog and demonstrated why they are selling out concert halls around the world. They are able to flawlessly move from jazz to Latin to rock without (literally) skipping a beat. They introduced a few new songs including “Cumbé” which will be on their next album which will be recorded this fall.

Rodrigo Sanchez - Photo by Toby Karlquist - torenka.com
Rodrigo Sanchez – Photo by Toby Karlquist – torenka.com

Look for a new album in 2019 and with luck, another tour stop in Mesa! To see all 102 of the photos we shot at this show please click HERE!

Author: Toby

Toby is a professional photographer and fan of all things music. He and his bride Renae own Torenka Photography in Mesa, Arizona. (www.torenka.com) When not photographing and writing about concerts and bands Toby and Renae provide custom Fine Art photography services to musicians and automobile owners. They also travel the world photographing landscapes; are constantly searching for the “perfect” Bloody Mary; dislike robo callers; are ruled by two cats; don’t miss the snow and are just plain ‘ol nice folks. Quote from Toby: "As a writer, I'm a pretty good photographer!"

Leave a Reply