Antonio "Kiko" Ruiz was born to Spanish parents in 1964 in the city of Toulouse in southern France. His career began at age eIeven, when he won a guitar competition held in his hometown.
He went to the city of Sanlücar in southern Spain, and became the student of the renowned Flamenco guitar master, Manolo Sanlücar. During his studies, he performed with fellow students - including guitarist Vicente Amigo and singer Duquende - and developed his own musical voice on the guitar.
ln 1992, he won first place in the international guitar competition in Nimes, and was awarded the privilege of opening a concert for the legendany Flamenco singer Camaron and guitarist Tomatito. He returned to Nimes in 2008 with his quintet to perform in Le Festival Flamenco de Nimes, one of world's oldest and most esteemed Flamenco events.
ln Flamenco music, Kiko has collaborated with Duquende, the family Montoya, dancer Joselito, Canastera, Concha Vargas, Esperanza Fernandez, José Galvan, Cepillo, and Blas Córdoba. ln other musical universes, he has performed with Julia Migenes, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Victoria Abril, Jean Marc Padovani, Abed Azrie, and Yasmin Levi. Kiko has also developed a solo career including the recordings CUERDAY MADERA(1998) and CACHITO DE VIDA (2005). His open mind about diverse styles of music has resulted in a recently released duet album with Indian Singer Ravi Prasad.