Cancanilla de Málaga & Chaparro at the Sala García Lorca of Casa Patas. San Isidro Flamenco 2019
José Manuel Gómez Gufi
He’s one of the most representative singers of Madrid flamenco, here and now. That flamenco that came out of the Corral de la Morería with Blanca del Rey and Manolo Caracol’s Canasteros. From the days of those tablaos, he then traveled around the world several times, won prizes such as the “Enrique el Mellizo” award in 1998 at the Córdoba contest. But where “Canca” really won the affection and applause of flamenco fans was night after night. He’s a regular figure at those intimate gatherings that are worthwhile precisely because there are artists of the quality of Sebastián Heredia Santiago, born in Marbella, alias Cancanilla, who started out in companies such as those of José Greco and Lola Flores.
We’ve heard him sing several times in recent years, and he is always acquiring knowledge and quality, this is a singer who continually grows, so the García Lorca room was full of friends and admirers, some from overseas.
He began with soleá por bulerías with credible verses reflecting reality (one person who had too much to drink fell asleep), followed by tientos tangos and ending the first part with siguiriyas of the kind that make it worth your while to withstand all the hardship of being a flamenco follower. Cancanilla transforms pain into beauty with the help of the guitar of Chaparro de Málaga (José Antonio Conejo Vida), masterful at every moment, just the right touch, with a mixture of simplicity and eloquence we’ve seldom seen in the great maestros of guitar who tend to offer something that seems more belabored.
And that’s when you realize once again the magic of this venue that holds about two-hundred men and women gathered to hear a voice and a guitar, with no amplification or other intermediaries. With the audience’s breath underlining the most inspired moments.
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