José Cala 'El Poeta'

Text: Estela Zatania

I
type “jose cala poeta” in the little box and Google asks if
I didn’t really mean “José Cela”. An image search
yields nothing. Not many flamenco fans remember José Cala Repeto
(Jerez de la Frontera, 1927) either. Just when I’m in Santiago watching
the beginning of the Prendimiento procession, a friend tells me that the
mortal remains of this central figure of flamenco guitar accompaniment
throughout the sixties and seventies were enterred the previous day, Holy
Tuesday.

In 1984 José Cala “El Poeta” was stricken with an
illness which would last the rest of his life, depriving him of contact
with the outside world, and flamenco of his fine guitar-playing. Those
twenty-two years of isolation ended April 11th, 2006 when we are still
mourning the death of his friend, guitarist Manolo Domínguez “El
Rubio” last February.

Though born in Jerez, he was a member of the elite flamenco circle of
Seville dominated by Antonio Mairena. You would often see him on Sierpes
street having coffee with Naranjito de Triana whose guitarist he was for
many years. He was a fixture at the summer festivals of the era, nearly
always accompanying the Mairenas or Naranjito. It was common to see him
roaming around the radio station on San Eloy street where the program
“Los Jueves Flamencos de Radio Sevilla” was broadcast, and
he was always happy to play on the spot for the permanent members of the
panel: Antonio Mairena, Luis Caballero, Jesús Heredia, Naranjito
de Triana and Chocolate, what a cast…

He lent his solid accompaniment to many recordings, most notably “Misa
Flamenca en Sevilla” with Antonio Mairena and Luis Caballero (1968).
In 1973 he recorded with Chocolate on the old Belter label. His artistic
collaboration on recordings with Encarnación Marín “La
Sallago”, Fernanda de Utrera and El Cabrero is noteworthy. El Poeta
also appears in various episodes of the series Rito y Geografía
del Baile.

He was called upon several times to sit on the jury of the Certaman Internacional
de Guitarra Flamenca organized by the Jerez flamenco club Los Cernícalos,
and transcriptions exist of his music prepared and published by Claude
Worms.

In 1985, after falling ill, he received a gala tribute that included the
performances of La Paquera, José Menese, Manolo Mairena, Enrique
Montoya, José de La Tomasa, Matilde Coral, Aurora Vargas, El Perro
de Paterna, Antonio Chacón, José Galán, Luis Caballero,
El Cabrero, El Turronero, Juana la del Revuelo, María La Burra,
Naranjito de Triana, Curro Malena, José Antonio Muñoz “El
Chozas”, Pepe Perejil, Rafael El Negro, Pepa Montes, Angelita Vargas,
Tina Pavón, Quique Paredes, Manolo Franco, Ricardo Miño,
Manolo Domínguez, Pedro Bacán, José Luis Postigo,
Romerito and El Biencasao.

But the most moving tribute of all came at the 2004 Bienal de Flamenco
de Sevilla from his daughter, dancer Charo Cala, who mounted an entire
show that premiered at the Teatro Central, “Para las Seis Cuerdas”,
dedicated to her father and inspired in his life.

Photo of José Cala: “Diccionario enciclopédico
ilustrado del flamenco” of José Blas Vega and Manuel Ríos
Ruíz.