After establishing a career as a child prodigy in Cuba, his family sent him to Barcelona in 1932 to study under the retired virtuoso guitarist Miguel Llobet (1878–1938).
[2] On May 9, 1934, Llobet presented him in a concert at the Academia Marshall together with a pianist and then shortly after in a solo recital.
Catalan composer and critic Jaime Pahissa described Rey as the most complete guitarist he had heard.
[5] In the mid 1940s he recorded his first two LP albums for the Spanish Music Center (SMC) label.
[6] In the early part of 1950, Rey recorded another two LP albums for the Allegro label.
Rey made at least five albums for Epic Records: Around 1961, right at a time when his career was flourishing, he suffered a setback: the middle finger of his right hand became less responsive and was a challenge for a number of years until Marianne Eppens, a physical therapist, was able to isolate the cause and offer a remedy.