Hi,
The beginning is very European minded and is considered almost Eastern in approach. It's a kind of mix that is very common in Europe, but is not heard in America a whole lot. This is something that America really lacks, in cultural music, which is so easy to find in Europe everywhere.
There is also, out of Macedonia, similar stuff, also done with keyboards and synthesizers, which is also strong and quite different. A bit more on the gypsy side of things, which became somewhat known as "Spanish" and is better known for the guitar playing than anything else, and its history is over a thousand years old.
The fact that the guy is Canadian is no big deal. It's pretty obvious what his inspiration is, and it ain't Canada, or Mexico! The Portuguese/Spanish mention was more about my past than you! However, there are times, when the cultural mixes and experiences, do not fly with many folks, and Americans are on occasion very smug about that, and thus, you will say skip the beginning, which in many ways is the nicest part of it that should have had some soft Spanish Guitar on it, but instead was just show ... because the star doesn't play slow!
That is the difference between the real good Spanish Guitar players and everyone else, and one of the reasons why the guy from Carmen is so good. He mixes it in very well, with rock music, something that most bands have YET to blend properly and correctly, so the initial cultural mix is negligible. This is a side of being European that you probably do not get, or understand, and is actually one of my problems ... I can flow to any of these countries and their music by snapping the fingers, and most people can't! Or as the idiot at the radio station in Santa Barbara once said ... it ain't rock'n'roll ... who gives a **** ... it's great music! Other than the guitarist from Carmen, the only other outstanding picker on Spanish Guitar was Andres Segovia. And he used to joke about guys that play fast, and the music went ...
Very similar in this type of modern mix, is Alan Stivell, who has used jazz, rock, and everything else you can think of, in his albums. The "rock" one for American audiences is the album "Again" and I highly recommend it so you can hear an electric guitar do what a harp can't do, and show us that the song remains the same with a different instrument, and sounds extremely modern and good. But it's a mix that most folks don't like, because it doesn't sound like Ennya or some other over blown Celtic name and music that is more "image" than reality, while Alan is VERY REAL and very French and still angry over the genocide by the French courts years ago. And not afraid to sing it and say it! ("Before Landing").
May will be an interesting month for me. I'm planning on catching the Acid Mothers, and get some ear wax removed that night and also seeing this.