A guitarist and composer, Cristobal Pazmino was born in Riobamba, Ecuador, in 1958. He started learning the guitar at a very early age with musicians from his own neighbourhood with whom he was to play for over 3 years- electric guitar, bass, ‘night guitar’ (known elsewhere as the classical guitar) all without sight reading. It was not until 1976 when he arrived in Paris that  he decided to study the classical guitar in earnest, first at the Schola Cantorum in Paris for 3 years, then at the CNRM( Conservatoire National de Musique de St Maur de Fossés, Val de Marne) for 5 years where he was awarded the Gold medal (Médaille d’Or) in 1986. Thus having become a classical guitarist, he devoted himself solely to Latin-American music, and Ecuadorian music in particular, combining popular music with the techniques of classical guitar. He set out on an international career which led him to 32 different countries, where he was  frequently billed with the biggest names of Latin American guitarists. In France his recordings have been featured in various TV and film productions : for the TV channel F3, the short film ‘The Golden Earth of the Incas’ in  1989, for the documentary film ‘Panama, Prince of Hats’ for the Arte Channel in 1997, the cable channels in 2002 for their documentaries on Chile, and in Ecuador, Teleamazonea, TV channel of the capital Quito, broadcast his theme tune for a whole season for the series ‘At home with the family’.
Cristobal Pazmino is the inspiration, founder, and artistic director of the International Festival of Guitar  www.vendomeguitarfest.com, which has become one of the highlights of the guitar music calendar.
Web: http://www.cristobalpazmino.com/pagespage.php?id=1&lang=1 (2011)