Cañizares was born in Sabadell, Spain in the year 1966, coming from an Andalucian family that, like so many others, immigrated to Barcelona in the 1950´s. His father was a great aficionado of the guitar and as luck would have it, he received as a prize in a country fair- a guitar. Cañizares´ father didn’t hesitate to immediately begin studying flamenco guitar. The professor became aware of the talent of his sons, Rafael and Juan Manuel, and he encouraged them to study the guitar more in depth.