The "fiesta" from which Rodrigo's final guitar concerto takes its title was a coming out party for Texas debutantes Alden and Lauri McKay; their parents, William and Carol McKay, commissioned the concerto and had it premiered in 1983 by Pepe Romero and the Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Giordano. Despite the occasion of the commission and premiere, this is not a frivolous work, and from the soloist's standpoint it is one of the most difficult concertos in the repertory.

Bold, strummed guitar chords announce the first movement, Allegro deciso, after which the soloist takes on non-stop passagework while the woodwinds offer tart thematic fragments in A minor, which the strings interrupt with broader statements. A second, even more lyrical and nostalgic theme, almost Moorish, arrives in D minor. All the music carries a strong Spanish flavor; Rodrigo described it as Valencian. Rodrigo subjects these two themes to traditional classical development, with the guitar essentially providing a motoric accompaniment to the orchestra's more prominent thematic manipulations. Midway through the movement, though, the orchestra silences itself while the guitar undertakes a long, fully written out cadenza, which ultimately leads the orchestra into a recapitulation of the themes.

With its prominent use of English horn, the second movement, Andante calmo, invites comparison to the slow movement of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez of 43 years earlier. But instead of the serenity of the earlier work, Rodrigo here devises a movement of restlessness and quiet tension thanks to its rhythmic complexity. Two bars of 6/8 alternate with one of 5/8, with different groupings within each bar creating further metrical unpredictability. Again, the soloist is mainly assigned rhythmic, almost accompanimental material while the orchestra (predominantly woodwinds) provides the melodies. The guitar comes to the fore only in the written out cadenza, which increases the tension through intricate passagework before relaxing into a rhythmically simpler, ballad-like section.

The concluding Allegro moderato is an extroverted rondo, using an Andalusian sevillanas as its principal theme (and thereby evoking a bullfight more than a debutante's ball). Of the two secondary themes, the first is a piquant, strutting tune for woodwinds and brass; the second is a soaring melody for strings, recalling material from the first movement.

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