Agustín Barrios Mangoré

Who is Agustín Barrios Mangoré?

Agustín Pío Barrios, known in concert as Agustín Barrios Mangoré, was a Paraguayan virtuoso guitarist and composer widely regarded as one of the greatest figures in the history of the classical guitar. Born in San Juan Bautista de las Misiones in 1885 to a schoolteacher mother of Guaraní descent and a father who worked as Paraguay's vice-consul, he showed early talent and moved to Asunción at fifteen to study at the Colegio Nacional. He composed more than one hundred original works for guitar and arranged roughly two hundred more, drawing heavily on Paraguayan folk melodies, waltzes, and rhythms alongside European Romantic and Baroque influences. From 1932 onward he sometimes performed under the stage name Nitsuga Mangoré, appearing in indigenous-inspired dress to honor his Guaraní heritage and the memory of a historic cacique. He toured extensively across Latin America and Europe, championing the guitar as a serious concert instrument at a time when it was often dismissed outside popular music. He died in El Salvador in 1944. Long under-recognized outside specialist circles, his compositions are now considered central to the classical guitar repertoire and are studied and performed by guitarists worldwide.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Agustín Barrios" · Guitar Player, "He Billed Himself as the Paganini of the Guitar" · Classical Guitar Magazine, "The Barrios Renaissance"