Last Saturday I was in Triana on occasion of its renowned\u00a0Vel\u00e1 de Santa Ana<\/i>\u00a0celebrations, and I went for long walks on those narrow streets that I like so much. I remembered one night when the great bailaor Manuel Corrales Gonz\u00e1lez\u00a0El Mimbre<\/i>\u00a0(brother of Matilde Coral) told me at\u00a0Taberna El Altozano<\/i>\u00a0that I would never be a true\u00a0trianero<\/i>. I didn\u2019t refute this, but it hurt, because I worked in Triana since I was just 13 years old and from those days until now I\u2019ve always been connected to that district, having been married at\u00a0Capilla de los Marineros<\/i>\u00a0(the headquarters of the\u00a0Esperanza de Triana<\/i>brotherhood) in 1986 and having lived in Triana for eight years. Yet, people don\u2019t become\u00a0trianero<\/i>\u00a0for having been married in Triana or for having lived in that district for many years, but for wanting to be\u00a0trianero<\/i>, and whenever I go to that district I feel that I belong to it.<\/p>\n
When I started visiting Triana in the 1970s, the scent of flamenco was everywhere, and I had the privilege of meeting many flamenco artists that are no longer with us. I often went to\u00a0El Morapio<\/i>, for example, and chatted with the old flamencos who already yearned for the more genuine Triana. A few days ago, I had a small discussion with a good aficionada who lives in that quarter (on Pureza street, I believe) and she lamented that Triana didn\u2019t have a museum or an archive centre, among other grievances unrelated to flamenco. She put the blame on the politicians, but the ones to blame are the people of Triana themselves. Let me explain.<\/p>\n
Triana is essential in flamenco history due to the many flamenco artists who were from that district, and particularly due to the many styles of\u00a0seguiriyas, soleares, ton\u00e1s, tangos, romances<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0buler\u00edas<\/i>\u00a0that originated there. There is no doubt that there\u2019s a school of\u00a0cante<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0baile<\/i>\u00a0from Triana, yet this district has never had any reputed flamenco historian able to demonstrate its importance, as has been the case with C\u00e1diz, Jerez, C\u00f3rdoba, M\u00e1laga and Huelva.<\/p>\n
Likewise, the people of Triana has never had any interest in those outsiders, like me, who have bothered to research flamenco in that quarter. I myself have been researching this art in Triana for twenty years and I\u2019ve earned nothing but criticism. It\u2019s been years since I last said anything about flamenco in Triana, although I have a lot to say about its 19th-century artists. I also have a lot to refute, which is something the people of Triana doesn\u2019t like to hear because they like to believe that flamenco was invented there and that all the great flamenco artists were from Triana, which is not true.<\/p>\n
Triana should start by commissioning a serious research about the history of flamenco in that district. A team that can get to work right away, but with a budget provided by the City Council or by the Junta de Andaluc\u00eda. I volunteer to lead such team, although I don\u2019t have much spare time due to my multiple occupations. When the work is completed, all the material gathered should be hosted in a good archive centre available for academics, artists and aficionados. Would any institution of Seville be able to afford such undertaking? Definitely yes, because a lot of money is squandered in many other things.<\/p>\n
In two or three years, for example, Triana could have that great flamenco archive center and museum. Yet, in order to achieve this, we must get to work, instead of ranting in taverns. And we must be willing to accept the findings of such research, which will reveal uncomfortable truths.<\/p>\n
If Triana wants, we are willing to help. Selflessly, by the way, although if there isn\u2019t a budget set aside for this adventure there is no point in even talking about it.<\/p>\n
Translated by P. Young<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last Saturday I was in Triana on occasion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-archivo"],"yoast_head":"\n