Esteban Antonio began to study both Flamenco and Classical styles of the guitar at just three years of age. By the time he was nine, he was the youngest guitarist to get in to the Royal College of Music in Kensington, London. Just two years later, in 1977, Esteban became the youngest guitarist in the world to perform the Concerto Aranuez by J. Rodrego with the Oxfordshire Youth Chamber Orchestra.

At 18, Esteban had toured Japan, performing in 40 concerts throughout the nation. At 20, he began touring Europe, performing major concerts in France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Finland and Denmark. Within ten years Esteban had added major tours of the US and Canada to his list.

He has worked with many celebrities including Johnny Depp, Judy Dench, George Michael and Juliet Binoche. He has recorded four film soundtracks – one of which received the award for best music for short film at the Cannes Film Festival.  “The guitar became my world and my god! Until I realised there was more to life then this”, Esteban says.

But with the world at his feet, the young Esteban suffered a traumatic accident in 1987. A severe back injury left him with irreparable spine damage to three vertebrae. This caused the loss of feeling in his legs with partial immobility. Limited movement was made possible only by huge doses of drugs. It was impossible to repair the damage by conventional means. The continual use of painkillers started to destroy his internal organs. Although the world was his oyster, the future looked bleak as far as Esteban’s health and mobility were concerned. The next decade was one of misery.

Then, in 1998, a miracle occurred. Estaban received prayer for healing whilst in a flat in Victoria, London. He says, “The Lord Jesus Christ showed up!” The pain vanished and his spine grew by two centimetres in a split second. The healing was witnessed by a whole group of Christians from Kensington Temple. Esteban gave his life to Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, his life was completely changed and he began to use his music as a means of sharing his new found faith.

Esteban has a passion to reach the people of Spain with the good news about Jesus. He now prays before he composes music because he wants everything to be by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Esteban dedicates his music and his energies to winning people to Christ. He says, “I gave away everything I had to follow the Lord. I have had my battles and ups and downs, but the Lord has always brought me through. He’s blessed me with new music, a life changing ministry, finances, power, and the greatest gift – to serve Him and bring light to the nation of Spain.”

 

Story by Ralph Burden

Photo: Estaban with his unique guitar                                      Photo attribution: Creative Commons License-Share alike 2.0 generic

 

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