{"id":19019,"date":"2020-04-08T10:21:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T08:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expoflamenco.com\/archivo\/?p=19019"},"modified":"2020-04-07T19:11:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T17:11:13","slug":"the-artists-buddies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expoflamenco.com\/archivo\/en\/bordonazo-new\/the-artists-buddies\/","title":{"rendered":"The artists\u2019 buddies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Monday I said that a book about the long-suffering wives of the flamenco artists (specially the old timers) had to be written. That article was well received, so the readers related to the story. Yet, the most interesting character in the world of flamenco, worth of analysis, is the buddy<\/em>. All artist of the jondo<\/em> have a buddy, who is usually a nosy character who is sometimes bossier than the artists themselves. There are two types of buddies, the wealthy ones, and those that are so broke they can\u2019t afford paying attention. The well-heeled pay for all the drinks, the broke one is the one carrying his suit, who under no circumstance would pay for anything. The two types take all sort of liberties, such a giving directions to the sound technician. \u201cCrank up the reverb, chap!<\/em>\u201d, used to say a well-known buddy of Chano Lobato, as if he had any idea of what a sound mixer was. Yet, he was a nice guy, no doubt. Juan el Camas once went to sing at a town\u2019s festival near Seville, in Castillo de las Guardas, but was totally hoarse. Forced to perform by the celebrated manager Pulp\u00f3n, he got on stage and told the public \u201cI can\u2019t sing, but listen carefully to the lyrics, they are very good\u201d. Meanwhile, his buddy, a snooper with as much finesse, explained to those present the reason for the ill-timed hoarseness: \u201cIt\u2019s because yesterday he slept in the buff, you know?\u201d.<\/p>\n

The number of buddies is always proportional to the fame of the artist. How many buddies did Chac\u00f3n have? Countless. One of the most famous was Tripa de Linares, protagonist of an anecdote told by Mairena in his memoirs, where one day when Manuel Torres was singly superbly and Chac\u00f3n was cheering him wildly, pulled him down by the jacket, as he considered unbecoming to cheer a rival. Chac\u00f3n just told him \u201cSir, my friend, go to hell!\u201d. Let\u2019s not even mention Camar\u00f3n, who had buddies even under the rocks. Raise your hand, whoever hasn\u2019t been a buddy of the genius de la Isla<\/em>. There are the female buddies too, and famous ones, suitable for another book. Enrique Morente had his buddy, the architect Felipe Mart\u00edn Chica, a peculiar character from Zafarraya in Granada, who\u2019s still alive, and is the only one who could write a book about the master, because he went with him to every concert. Besides, he sings exactly like him, it\u2019s spooky. I haven\u2019t met a most loyal buddy than Felipe, who would have given his life for his compae(1)<\/em>, as he called him, and still calls him to this day. He was one of those who paid for the drinks, by the way, although this doesn\u2019t matter much. Ni\u00f1o de Marchena also had a legion of buddies, and all of them sang like him, or at least tried to. In fact, in one of his slate records, it\u2019s not the master who sings a taranta<\/em>, but rather one of his countless buddies and imitators. Marchena always said that it wasn\u2019t him who sang it, but no one ever believed him, as he had a reputation as a prankster.<\/p>\n

The buddy also told the same story, but no one believed him either, of course, and he took that frustration to his grave. Lastly, there is another (essential, I\u2019d say) aspect of the typical flamenco artist\u2019s buddy that\u2019s worth mentioning. I mean those who, after their idol\u2019s death, create business cards highlighting their capacity as buddy<\/em> of this or that artist, which is something that opens doors. One day I saw a classified ad in a newspaper which read as follows: \u201cPlot for sale in Vejer de la Frontera, ideal for a country house, with fruit trees and water well. If interested please contact Emilio Puertas, buddy of Chato de la Isla<\/em>\u201d. Like I said, worth of a book.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n