King of Kings: Gipsy Kings' Lead Guitar Spotlight Belongs to Tonino Baliardo
When discussing the long-running international phenomenon known as the Gipsy Kings, it's best to start by clearing up a few misconceptions. Yes, they really are gypsies — descendants of Romani families that journeyed from northern Spain to southern France in the early 20th century to escape persecution. Yes, they really play gypsy music: rumba catalana, they call it, which is poppier than flamenco but marked by the same "exotic" scales and feats of derring-do on nylon-string guitars. No, none of them has ever lived in caravans. No, they don't camp out on the edges of French towns. And no, they don't supplement their income by telling fortunes or corralling gangs of kids to steal tourists' wallets.
The actual day-to-day existence of a Gipsy King is far more prosaic than the romantic image of a traditional gypsy. Lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo explains that he and his brothers Paco and Diego (also members of the band) reside, in separate houses, on a single quiet street in the southern French city of Montpellier.
"The street doesn't belong just to us, but it might as well," Baliardo says through an interpreter; his command of English is decent, but he's more comfortable speaking French. "My mother and my sister live only a few doors away. We're all very close." Similarly, the five Reyes brothers who make up the rest of the group – and are cousins of the Baliardos – all live in the same neighborhood in nearby Arles. As the old saying goes, the family that plays together stays together.
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