September 19, 1924 - November 18, 2012

Mariano was born in a Castillian village in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. He began his life-long study of the guitar at 12 years of age, and went on to perform with some of Spain's great flamenco dancers and singers. In 1952, he toured extensively throughout Europe and the Americas with one of the most revered flamenco dancers of all times, Antonio. Mariano's career soon flourished with nationally televised appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. Although he played in the finest theaters throughout Europe and the Americas, Mariano felt that the high point of his career was when he debuted at the Teatro Espanol in Madrid.

In 1956, Mariano moved to San Francisco. He later lived in Sunnyvale, and San Jose. Mariano passionately devoted himself to preserving and passing on traditional flamenco music by writing five books on flamenco guitar methods, teaching, composing, recording, and performing.