Alirio Díaz (12 November 1923 – 5 July 2016) was a Venezuelan classical guitarist and composer, considered one of the most prominent composer-guitarists of South America[1] and an eminent musician.

The eighth of eleven children, Díaz was born in Caserio La Candelaria, a small village near Carora in western Venezuela.

In 1950, the Venezuelan government awarded him a scholarship to continue his guitar studies in Madrid under Regino Sainz de la Maza.

[5] Alirio Díaz performed all over the world combining baroque music with the works of modern Latin American composers, such as Lauro, Sojo and Barrios Mangoré.

Soon after his arrival he was welcomed by a large group of representative figures of Venezuelan culture, and the Ministry of Education responded by approving a grant for Diaz.

Studying here had an excellent effect on Diaz and he gave successful recitals in the most important centers of Spanish culture including Ateneo de Madrid, Teatro Español, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Alhambra in Granada, Teatro Principal in Valencia.

Close friendly relations developed with intellectuals and musicians Gerardo Diego, Joaquin Rodrigo, Moreno Torroba, Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco, Garcia Nieto, Narciso Yepes, Nino Rota, Emilio Pujol, Daniel Fortea, Eugenia Serrano, Federico Monpou, Xavier Montsalvage,Joaquin Achucarro and John Williams.

He appeared as soloist with symphonic orchestras under the direction of conductors like Sergiu Celibidache, Leopold Stokowski, Antonio Estévez, Andre Kostelanetz, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jose Iturbi, among others.