THREE MILLENNIUMS

Cante: Antonio de Canillas, Alfredo Arrebola, Antonio de Tolox, Antonio Fuentes, Antonio el Malagueño, Barquerito de Fuengirola, Curro Román, Enrique Castillo, Pepe de Campillos, Chiquilín, Queque de Málaga, El Niño de la Alegría, Niño Bonela, Loli París, Morenito de Córdoba. Guitar: Martín Perea, Manolo Santos, Paco de Teba, Paco Jurado, Pepe Sánchez. Song and dance: La Cañeta, Pepito Vargas. Dance: Carrete, Carmen la Terremoto, Gloria Vargas. Fiesta: La Tembleca, La Gallina, Carnicerito. Violin: Paco Maroto. Presentation: Gonzalo Rojo. Guest artists: El Tiriri, Cándido de Málaga. Panda Raíces de Málaga. Special collaboration: guitarra, Andres Cansino, Juani Santiago, Junco, Juani Vázquez, Pepe Amaya, Juan Moreno. Compás: Yaya, Kiko, Iván del Pino. Percussion: Juanma. Laúd: Fali.

The final evening of the huge Málaga en Flamenco festival which reached its conclusion after a month full of shows and cultural activities of all types, maintained the same laidback feeling that has characterized the whole event. With the admirable goal of honoring veteran flamenco artists from Málaga born before 1950, 40 singers, dancers and guitarists were brought together who for years gave their all at the now legendary tablaos that dotted the coast: the popular tablao Jaleo in Torremolinos, the Taberna Gitana in downtown Málaga, clubs owned by Cañeta de Málaga and José Salazar, Jarrito’s Pagoda Gitana, places owned by Antonio de Canillas, Lola Flores, Pansequito and Ana María, among many others.

José Moreno “Carnicerito de Cádiz”	Antonio Canillas, Manolo Santos
La Cañeta de Málaga	Carmelilla la Terremoto

Depending on your age, that era was flamenco’s golden age, or a dubious prehistory full of polkadots, rumbas and ruffles that reflected “The tambourine Spain” tourists were after, and which today’s young artists find so embarrassing. In actual fact, it was all of that… and none of it. Nowadays there’s money galore for flamenco, and any young hopeful who can write a convincing project has a medium or large-scale company. But in the heyday of these veterans, the most viable medium for the workaday artist was the tablao. Stars big and small did time in the most dignified fashion at these relatively intimate venues.

Proud of what they’ve done, and what they still can do…no time for superficiality

Wth a cast of artists that collectively represented nearly three thousand years of hard-earned experience, at least one of the performers continues to circulate in the day-to-day rough-and-tumble of festivals and theaters: Teresa Sánchez Campos, “Cañeta de Málaga”, was the grand professional of the show, along with Pepito Vargas, singer and dancer, with whom she has been sporadically sharing stages for a half-century. The performance of these two was the highest point of the show; nearly all the other performers have been out of the circuit for years, although we were forgiving because it wasn’t a night for criticizing, but rather to celebrate a grand generation of Málaga artists coming from an ambience that became fragmented, in large part due to the tourism boom that gave them so much work in the first place.

Gloria Vargas	Grupo
Pepito Vargas	El Tiriri

Also noteworthy was the participation of Eulalia Romero “La Gallina”, sister of singer Rafael Romero “El Gallina”, Antoniode Canillas, one of Málaga’s great veterans, Alfredo Arrebola, who is not only a flamenco singer but also writer and journalist, and the much-loved Tiriri and Carrete who each did their numbers despite delicate health. Throughout the show one thing becomes obvious: singing has changed, no doubt about it, flamenco dance is not the same either, but the guitar is literally unrecognizable. It’s also a lesson in maturity. These people are proud of what they’ve done, and what they can still do, and waste no time with superficiality, they go straight to the core.

The mainly local audience had a grand time, and the rest of us had few, if any, complaints, because this was a sentimental closing worthy of a festival on the rise that offered a viable alternative to formats employed by other similar events.

More information:

Special MÁLAGA EN FLAMENCO

Interview with La Cañeta