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Los Amaya are considered one of the maximum exponents of the so-called Catalan rumba. A musical duo formed by the brothers José (La Coruña, 1952) and Delfín Amaya (Oviedo, 1954), family members of
Carmen Amaya, that arrived to Barcelona at a very young age and commenced playing the guitar very soon, singing at gypsy festivals.
A the end of the 60's they started to achieve success in Barcelona and in '71 they jump in definitely to fame, with their version of the classic Latin American 'Caramelos' (Lollies). Around the same time they record their own compositions, like 'El jala-jala' and '¡Qué mala suerte la mía! ' (What Bad Luck I Have).
In '78 Tony Ronald meets them and he became a key in the development in their career. They reached the golden age, in where they record RCA tracks so successful such as 'La inyección' (The Injection), 'Vete' (Leave), their major success, 'Amor amor' (Love Love), 'Decirle a ella que vuelva" (Tell Her to Come Back)...and always with Ronald, the duo become more orientated with their ballads and the their sentimental songs. In this era they also worked with those musicians from the Spanish panorama like Josep Max Kitflus, Max Suñer and Carles Benavent.
After the golden age, they record a multitude of albums for various labels with a lack of orientation, and with a quality inferior to their creations (this period includes the return to popularity with their appearance in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games of Barcelona, together with Peret and the
Los Manolos).
Recently they have got together again to record with Tony Ronald and have recuperated the quality of their recordings of the 60's y 70's, carrying out their best albums: 'Únicos' (Only Ones) and 'En directo' (In Direct).
They are known for the act of introducing the electric guitar in flamenco rumba, like
El Pescaílla, Peret, Chacho and
Gato Pérez.
Fans are still waiting for the release of a homage album to
Los Amaya, with participants of the status such as Dominican Luis Miguel del Amargue.