Juana la del Revuelo (1952-2016)

Estela Zatania

The beloved singer and dancer has died

The world of flamenco is a little off-compas today.  Juana la del Revuelo has joined her Revuelo, and the party has been moved elsewhere.  Juana Silva Esteban, our beloved fiesta artist, these people who are flamenco's life-support…not the tragic flamenco as seen through Lorca's dark vision, but that of clever humor and grace, so intrinsically Andalusian, the other side of the coin without which the «deep song» would be missing a fundamental part of its identity.

That eternal image with the large basket, the apron and the knee-length breeches, a classic portrait of gypsiness that we all delighted in.   A Triana feel in her bulerías and tangos, passed through the prism of the Tres Mil Viviendas neighborhood where day-to-day flamenco life made a profound mark on Juana.

Juana perfected her art in tablaos, flamenco clubs and festivals, always accompanied by her husband, Martín Revuelo, and son, the underappreciated guitarist, Martín chico.  I remember a particularly noteworthy performance on the humble terrace of a bar in front of the Cathedral of Cante in La Unión, and we cannot fail to mention her presence in the filmed dance work «Bodas de Gloria» (1996).

In a review of her performance at the 2002 Bienal de Sevilla, I wrote that «Juana la del Revuelo offered one of the least pretentious and most entertaining appearances of the entire Bienal».  Testimonial and definitive assessment of a creative and spontaneous artist, the essence of flamenco, who Tuesday, June 7th, 2016, said her final 'adiós' at the age of 64.

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