Carlos Paredes

Carlos Paredes (1925–2004) was a Portuguese guitarist and composer.

Paredes was born on 16th February 1925 in Coimbra, son of the equally famous Artur Paredes. He is credited with popularising the medium internationally during the twentieth century. He was known as the "Man with a Thousand Fingers".

He began playing at the age of four, and started his musical career at the age of eleven. He performed with many other artists, including Charlie Haden, and also wrote compositions for fado singer Amalia Rodrigues. He wrote a number of film scores, and received particular recognition for the 1971 film Verdes Anos ("Tender Years"). In 2000, the Kronos Quartet recorded two versions of "Verdes Anos" and "Romance no 1", from the first Carlos Paredes album, Guitarra Portuguesa, recorded in 1969 -1970.

During the 1950s and 1960s, being a member of the Portuguese Communist Party, he was imprisoned for opposing the Portuguese dictatorship; some of this time was spent in solitary confinement. He would walk around his cell pretending to play music, which led some prison inmates to believe he was insane (in fact he was doing compositions in his head).

When the political captives were released, they were hailed as heroes by the Portuguese people, though Paredes always refused this heroic status. He never said much about his time in prison, except: "Many people suffered worse than I."

He suffered from myelopathy, a nerve disorder which prevented him from playing for the last eleven years of his life. He died from kidney failure on 23rd July 2004, in a nursing home.

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