Over mezelf - Gabriel Aguilera - Musica - Liuteria

Gabriel Aguilera Valdebenito

Gabriel Aguilera Valdebenito  was born in Chile. From the age of sixteen he has taught himself to play instruments from the Andes Mountains such as the guitar, charango, quena an panflute, as well as various percussion instruments.

In 1979 Gabriel settled in The Netherlands where his musical activities included work with several groups and ensembles.

From 1987 through 1995 he formed a duo with Paraguayan harpist Lincoln Almada with whom he appeared in prestigious venues in The Netherlands (De Doelen - Rotterdam, Het concertgebouw - Amsterdam, Vredenburg - Utrecht), France (Unesco, Centre Pompidou), Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Marocco and Madagascar. In 1991 this duo recorded a CD "The Source of all Waters" which was presented in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Gabriel was a member of "La Banda del Sur", which later became "Winanda del Sur". This ensemble realized numerous concerts in various Dutch theatres and made two CD’s: La Banda del Sur "Live in Amsterdam" and Winanda del Sur "Luna y Mar". They also made a grand tour of a number of Chilean cities in September 1999.

In 1990 Gabriel became an apprentice in the workshop of Sebastián Núñez, a well-known maker of lutes, guitars and other plucked instruments as well as harpsichords. It was here that Gabriel’s interest was aroused in early music and its relationship with the music of Latin America. Utilizing the techniques and constructions found in early instruments such as lute, vihuela and others, Gabriel has constructed many instruments (such as renaissance, baroque and classical guitar, charango, cuatro, tiple and Paraguayan harp) which found a great recognition with esteemed musicians.

Since 1999 Gabriel is a member of the baroque ensemble  "Musica Temprana " (www.musicatemprana.com) . With this ensemble he has tourned extensively and participated in numerous festivals, including Misiones de Chiquitos in Bolivia (2004, 2006 and 2008), and the Baroque Music Festival in Antwerpen (2006).
Musica Temprana has produced 3  CDs "Al uso de nuestra tierra" (2001), "Avecillas Sonoras." (2008) and  " Iyai Jesucristo" (2009)

Since 2007 he has also been a part of the group "Pizzicanto" (www.pizzicanto.it), that interprets popular music of southern Italy;  and since 2009 of the ensemble " Aguilera Project ", that interprets music from Latin America.

In 2010, Gabriel produces his CD  " De corazón a corazón"

At the present time the musical activities of Gabriel Aguilera are developing in Holland and in Italy, and his most recent activities as craftsman of musical instruments have taken place in Tuscania, in the province of Viterbo ( Italy).