It has been always like this through flamenco\u2019s history. To be able to perform real flamenco, it\u2019s necessary to possess a certain gift, to have it in our guts, to feel it and to love it. It can\u2019t be a matter of seeking money and success, as the later usually ensures the former. To be flamenco is not a matter of waking up one morning and deciding to\u00a0become<\/i>flamenco, but it\u2019s a matter of\u00a0being<\/i>\u00a0flamenco, to relate to its way of feeling, enjoying and looking at life and at the art of music and dance (which are the same thing, almost indivisible within flamenco.)<\/p>\n
Those unable to sing, dance or play flamenco with art and\u00a0pellizco<\/i>usually fabricate their own flamenco, dismissing things like duende, soul,\u00a0pellizco<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0comp\u00e1s<\/i>. Those who have none of that, simply claim that such things don\u2019t exist and that it was all made up by flamencologists and critics. If they can\u2019t sing the proper way, then they sing in a different way, hoping that someone will like it, claiming to have a unique style. So unique that no one understands them. Then they bask in their uniqueness.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not possible for someone to be even an average\u00a0cantaor<\/i>\u00a0unless they passionately love\u00a0cante<\/i>, feeling it and respecting it. The world of flamenco is so tolerant that there is room even for bad performers. I don\u2019t know if it has ever happened, and it\u2019s certainly something I\u2019ve never heard of, anyone ever being banned from flamenco for not meeting high quality standards, for not having flamenco flavor or for lacking\u00a0comp\u00e1s<\/i>. There is room and public for everyone, because there are knowledgeable aficionados and also aficionados who don\u2019t know anything, just as some people are demanding and others aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Nowadays there are two or three noteworthy artists who sing too often, because they\u2019re heavily promoted by the media. Apologies for not giving names, although you\u2019ll probably be able to figure it out. Since they\u2019re terrible\u00a0cantaores<\/i>, they hate\u00a0cante<\/i>\u00a0and try to destroy it. It\u2019s an impossible quest, of course, as they\u2019re not that powerful, but they try and join forces with other frustrated musicians to create some noise. Besides, they can count on the support of some media outlets which turned their backs on flamenco many years ago in order to promote mediocrity.<\/p>\n
There have always been artists like Rosal\u00eda, who have the backing of critics who are completely disoriented or who enjoy being perceived as rebels. They seem to reason that promoting a bad artist will give them publicity, and if the artist eventually succeeds, then they can claim to have noted the artist\u2019s potential before everyone else. Yet, no one with the most basic common sense can state that this girl is a good\u00a0cantaora<\/i>, because she isn\u2019t. She\u2019s the result of a marketing ploy intended to sell albums and concert tickets. If we remove all the embellishments, we can see what\u2019s left: nothing.<\/p>\n
Do you know why this is happening, as it has happened before? Because there are no longer great flamenco stars who inspire aficionados, and at such times some people take advantage to promote whatever they feel like. Like Ni\u00f1o de Elche, or the son of Enrique Morente, who seems to perform in every festival claiming to feature flamenco, and is promoted as if he were a new musical genius.<\/p>\n
The only way to fight all this trash is by supporting the good stuff, true flamenco, which still exists. Nowadays, there are no great flamenco stars, but there are many good artists who deserve more attention than we give them. In flamenco, it\u2019s very easy to fake it, and some terrible performers are coming from under the rocks as if they had any artistic value. Supporting what\u2019s truly worth it, instead of buying into all the nonsense, is the only way to get this mess fixed. Flamenco deserves it. I mean flamenco, not the trash.<\/p>\n
Translated by P. Young<\/small><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It has been always like this through flamenco\u2019s history. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-archivo"],"yoast_head":"\n