Rafael el Negro

On Wednesday morning, March 17th, the world of flamenco lost Rafael García Rodríguez “Rafael el Negro”.

Text: Estela Zatania

He was known for being an excellent dancer of bulerías, in the most classic style of Triana.  Married to Matilde Coral, he was always known as “the husband of …”, but was very much admired by flamenco followers for the elegance and sobriety of his fiesta dancing.

If Matilde is the dancer who gave form and fame to the “Seville school” of women’s dance, it was Rafael who set the example for men dancers of his generation as far as bulerías.  He was the inspiration for the compact controlled style of Manolo Soler (Sevilla, 1943-2003) who considered El Negro a great maestro.

His greatest fame came at the end of the nineteen-sixties with the legendary trio Los Bolecos, which was later awarded the prize of the Jerez Cátedra de Flamencología, made up of Rafael, his wife Matilde and the original Farruco.  Some people say it was Farruco who gave him the nickname “El Negro”, although other sources attribute it to the artists’ agent, Antonio Pulpón.

He went on to appear in various tablaos and participate in tours abroad, most notably along with Matilde in the company of José Greco.  Together, they founded one of the most prestigious flamenco dance schools in the world producing dancers like Milagros Mengíbar and Pepa Montes.

The last time I saw Rafael el Negro dance was in October of 2005 during the fiesta finale of the Festival de la Mistela, a scene that will go down in history for those of us present: he was summoned to the stage by Matilde Coral and Chano Lobato to dance bulerías, and with two little steps, and three little flashes of genius he summarized the entire history of the best home-grown flamenco dance.

Rafael el Negro with Pepe de la Isla, Mario Escudero and Paco de Lucía in New York