Interview with El Pele

Singer Manuel Moreno Maya “El Pele”
was voted best flamenco singer in 2003 by Deflamenco’s
readers, and his record Canto with guitarist Vicente
Amigo was voted best record. Once again these two men
from Córdoba joined forces on a recording, and
the outcome was a hit with audiences. For Canto and
for his singing, Pele obtained a resounding vote of
confidence.

You were the most voted performer in the categories
of best singer and best record in the Deflamenco poll.

Does this recognition have
any importance for you?
I think it’s even more important than if a formal
panel of judges had decided, because the fans are the
ones who really understand this, so it’s doubly
rewarding. It’s something I didn’t expect,
I don’t even use a computer yet and I’m
very grateful to everyone who made this voting possible,
it’s very gratifying.

The fans are the ones
who really
understand this, so it’s doubly rewarding

Do
you feel this record “Canto” was much awaited?
Yes, people were really waiting for it because Vicente
Amigo and I have been talking about recording for six
or seven years and our followers were just as anxious
as we were to see a recording of Vicente Amigo and Pele
in circulation. It’s been very well-received.

What do you think was the
key to this work being so warmly accepted.
It’s about heart, harmony, affection and friendship,
the pleasure you take in doing something. I believe
that if you haven’t got anything to say, silence
is the best route, silence speaks for itself and if
you have nothing to say, you should remain silent. We
broke the silence when we had something to say, and
we really broke it.

Is that why you took so long
to record again?
Exactly, because I don’t believe in recording
just for the sake of it. That thing that you have to
make a record every year no matter what, I don’t
do that, because it’s not waiting for you around
the corner, you have to take on the project with love
in order to see the rewards, it has to be well done,
you can tell when something is done with love.

Would you say the communication
with Vicente Amigo is fundamental?
I’ve known Vicente since he was eleven and all
I have to do is breathe and he knows what to play. There’s
very good communication, and that’s the magic
of doing new things and enriching flamenco. Magic, affection,
it’s all part of it.

Our followers were just
as anxious as we were to see a recording of Vicente
Amigo and Pele in circulation

You’ve been a well-known
singer for quite some time. With this recording, do
you think a new Pele has emerged that will appeal more
to young people?
No, it’s all the same, I’ve always done
the same flamenco. Futuristic flamenco for noble and
pure aficionados, and the young people who are getting
into new flamenco as well. I’ve been doing new
things for flamenco for thirty years, never wandering
from the roots. This record was long-awaited by flamenco
fans and by us too, and it’s really interesting
because we do something different on every record. For
example there’s the siguiriyas which is a real
work of art, with each record we add our grain of sand.

Although
the siguiriya sounds flamenco, it’s really very
different. Is that what you consider innovation in flamenco?
I’d say so. If I put siguiriyas on for a girl
of fourteen or fifteen, she won’t be able to take
it because it’s very serious, pure cante, but
if we give her this three by four rhythm, it isn’t
just that she accepts it, it’s that she’ll
put it on again and again, and she gets hooked on the
clever rhythm, and I’m still singing pure siguiriyas.

I’ve known Vicente
since he was eleven…all I have to do is breathe and
he knows what to play

Perhaps the most accessible
pieces are the ones that get people hooked, and then
they learn to appreciate more traditional flamenco.
¿Do you think that’s true?
There’s a bit of everything. There are things
for people who are just getting into flamenco now, and
also for purists. The record is half and half.

Do you think recordings need
to be more commercial?
I wasn’t going for the commercial angle with this
record. It’s based on a youthful audience, the
new crop of fans who are listening to Pele’s records,
not because it’s more commercial or less commercial,
but to make it easier for the new audience.

Nowadays there’s a
lot of talk about whether young singers are faithful
to the roots.
I don’t think young singers today respect the
traditions of flamenco, and they make money, or try
to make it, by doing senseless fusion. I don’t
like fusion, I like music that’s well-done, and
I don’t believe in doing fusion just for the sake
of doing it. I think today’s youthful flamenco
artists have little use for tradition.

But there are also young
artists who are only interested in traditional flamenco.
Yes, but so far, for the most part, young artists are
turning their back on tradition.

With regard to your roots,
you claim to be a follower of Caracol. Was that you
main inspiration?
As far as I’m concerned, anyone who sings well
is my maestro. I’ve drawn from every source, even
Juanito Valderrama, it doesn’t have to be Caracol,
but of course I’m a fan of his, but that doesn’t
mean I haven’t drunk from other sources such as
Mairena, Vallejo, Juan Talega, Manuel Torre, Marchena…

You have an unusual voice
that even international performers like David Bowie
and Prince couldn’t help but notice.
It’s flamenco, the oldest music of all, that has
the deepest roots, that provokes tears and laughter.
I didn’t call the attention of David Bowie or
Prince or Sting with my voice, it was flamenco that
caught their interest, pure flamenco.

What projects have you got
in the works?
Right now I’m busy putting together my spring
and summer tour, and talking to people, because I’m
planning a theatrical flamenco work, an opera, but I’ll
have more on that later on.

Texto y fotos: Sonia M. Pariente

CD
review – 'Canto' – El Pele & Vicente Amigo