Rafael Riqueni del Canto, born 16 August 1962 in Seville, Spain, is a guitarist and composer who began performing publicly at twelve. After studying at the Escuela del Niño Ricardo and later under Manolo Sanlúcar, he won the Ramón Montoya and the Jerez National Guitar contests in 1977, launching his professional career. His debut album Juego De Niños (1986) introduced the composition "Al Niño Miguel", and the 1987 release Flamenco showcased his solo guitar virtuosity. Subsequent records – Mi Tiempo (1990), Suite Sevilla (1993), Maestros (1994), Alcázar De Cristal (1996) – incorporated classical and jazz influences and earned him the Premio Andalucía de Cultura (1995) and the Giraldillo a la Maestría (2014). After a period of limited activity, he returned with Parque de María Luisa (2017), which entered Spain’s Top 100 chart and received critical acclaim as a flamenco album of the year.
