I\u2019ve decided to accept the stigma. I shall embrace sin, sleep with the devil and pay profound tribute to the most reviled sort of flamenco. In early July, I had the honor of giving a talk related to the 50th anniversary of the venerable Reuni\u00f3n de Cante Jondo de la Puebla de Cazalla, which I chose to title: \u201cThey tell me purity does not exist<\/i>\u201d. The terrible \u201cp\u201d word was used with the most ironic intent, a word that triggers a mixture of ridicule and contempt in a certain demographic sector, namely the younger generation. It turns out Antonio Mairena lied to us, who would have thought?…and Franco manipulated us. The entire output of people like Terremoto, Talega, Chocolate, so many maestros, Fernanda herself who with her limited repertoire managed to slice open your chest and lacerate your heart, voices charged with emotion\u2026or so we thought in our innocence\u2026but it was all lies and manipulation they tell us. So fine, I dry my tears and get down to the business of praising the amazing technique and expansive repertoire of a new generation. I pride myself on being able to open my ears and mind wide open to locate the \u201cblack sounds\u201d wherever they may be found, even when they barely reach pale grey.<\/p>\n
Then, I attended a humble recital. So humble that it wasn\u2019t even a recital, but a few cantes of sole\u00e1, tangos and siguiriyas to illustrate a talk related to the history of flamenco. Two veteran amateurs who don\u2019t generally sing professionally, known in Mor\u00f3n but not really elsewhere, both called Antonio, managed to align the heavenly bodies in such a way that flamenco flowed freely, the way I and others learned to savor it years ago. Those impure bare sounds had such an impact, with no posturing of any kind, no studied vocal tricks, no fists and grimaces, that a sort of collective awakening seemed to take over those present in the simple meeting-room. When they\u2019d finished, we all looked at each other sheepishly with half-smiles that seemed to say: \u201cyes\u2026I\u2019d all but forgotten about that way of singing<\/i>\u201d.<\/p>\n
Singer Calixto S\u00e1nchez often mentions that Pepe Pinto used to say that to hear good cante, \u201cyou have to listen to the people with the big boots<\/i>\u201d, a graphic reference to simple people, farmhands and such. These seventy-something Antonios, Carpintero and Chac\u00f3n, have huge virtual boots. Am I saying something racist? I don\u2019t think so, at least it\u2019s not my intention. These men exhibit crushing sincerity with their straightforward voices. It\u2019s not a question of levels, it\u2019s not singing well or poorly. Rather, it\u2019s something that makes you love flamenco singing above and beyond any individual singer, even though one without the other could not exist. Fresh, natural, moving, warm, sincere and plaintive, like the farmer\u2019s voices I remember hearing when I was young, echoing from the distance between rolling hills, two or more at once, forming an eerie chorus.<\/p>\n
Right now, don\u2019t anyone tell me \u201cpurity\u201d is a fake value, or \u201cyou have to renew\u201d. Go tell it to someone else, and forgive me everyone for this little tantrum. I ache to again hear that way of using flamenco singing to reach the place where I felt enraptured listening to priceless impure sounds. Literally priceless, because I don\u2019t think this kind of singing without embellishment is up for sale.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve spent 57 years of my life in search of the kind of singing that once entrapped me. At this point in time it makes no sense to settle for anything less.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve decided to accept the stigma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estela-flamenca"],"yoast_head":"\n