In western Andalusia, with a population one-fourth the size of Jerez, less than half that of C\u00e1diz and only a tiny fraction of Seville, over the decades Utrera has yielded many extraordinary flamenco artists with unique personalities.\u00a0 A lot of flamenco fans are in a lather these days about young singer Rosal\u00eda with her contemporary or experimental approach.\u00a0 But decades before she was born, flamenco artists were versioning popular music in very flamenco ways.\u00a0 In other flamenco towns popular songs are interpreted to the rhythm of buler\u00edas or tangos.\u00a0 But they\u2019re just that.\u00a0 Pop songs with a flamenco spin.\u00a0 Utrera singers however, manage to transform popular music into flamenco, no one does it better, and yes, I\u2019m biased.\u00a0 That\u2019s what blogs are for, to express a personal perspective.<\/p>\n
Outside of Utrera, Pepa and Bambino are often thought of as \u201crumberos\u201d, a term that today, in 2019, sounds dismissive and outdated.\u00a0Both were talented fiesta performers, in the noblest sense of the word, in addition to having deep knowledge of classic flamenco forms. They sang rumbas, yes, of course, their greatest fame coincided with the rumba catalana craze of the 1960s.\u00a0 But everything they sang was tinged with the feel of Utrera comp\u00e1s, the sweet contained sadness, the irresistible laidback route to flamenco that Utrera interpreters do so well.\u00a0 Flamenco of the interior, a patch of territory shared with Lebrija and Mor\u00f3n, where the air smells not of the sea but of carob and olives.<\/p>\n
Pepa de Utrera, daughter of Jos\u00e9 Loreto el Feongo and Mar\u00eda Pe\u00f1a, granddaughter of the legendary Pinini whose peculiar personality colors Utrera flamenco.\u00a0 I remember hearing and falling in love with Pepa\u2019s silky voice for the first time on a recording of \u201cLa Viajera\u201d, a sweetly melancholic rumba that suits her voice and temperament to perfection.\u00a0 In addition to numerous appearances at major festivals in Spain and abroad, and winner of important prizes at the prestigious C\u00f3rdoba contest, she was featured performer at the tablaos of Madrid during their heyday.<\/p>\n
Bambino\u2019s popularity went further.\u00a0 He created a dramatic new way of delivering rumba and buler\u00edas that both flamenco fans and the general public found irresistible.\u00a0 He would stroll around the stage with serene elegance while his always powerful backup stoked the excitement to fever pitch.\u00a0 The best guitarists of the era, Paco Cepero, Paco de Antequera, Juan Maya Marote, Juan Habichuela, Paco del Gastor, Manolo Dom\u00ednguez El Rubio and an adolescent Paco de Luc\u00eda, in addition to great choral work and palmas led to unforgettable moments that permanently changed the way festive flamenco was interpreted.\u00a0 La Pared, La \u00daltima Noche, Adoro, Beb\u00ed de tus Labios, Coraz\u00f3n Loco <\/em>andEl Poeta Llor\u00f3<\/em>, among many many other songs, the soundtrack of our youth for an entire generation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n El utrerano Bambino. Foto de portada de su \u00e1lbum ‘Hablemos de amor’.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pepa and Bambino are often thought of as \u201crumberos\u201d, a term that today, in 2019, sounds dismissive and outdated.\u00a0Both were talented fiesta performers, in the noblest sense of the word, in addition to having deep knowledge of classic flamenco forms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":11855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estela-flamenca"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"El](\"https:\/\/www.expoflamenco.com\/archivo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/expoflamenco-bambino-caratula-hablemos-de-amor.jpg\")