Oyster shuckers say the probability of finding a pearl is quite small. And shellfish collectors who harvest these edible invertebrates explain that it can take up to ten years for a pearl to form inside, with the caveat that not all of them produce them.
At the flamenco, and more specifically in the Cadiz domain, the most natural precious jewel, due to its high value in the market of connoisseurs, is The Pearl of CadizBut his most special oyster was my great friend Curro the Shrimp, whom I remember today because on May 12 we celebrate the centenary of his birth.
We met through a mutual friend, Paco Vallecillo, and we strengthened our friendship for the sake of Antonio Benitez Perez at the III Biennial of Flamenco Seville, when on September 24, 1984 Curro joined the cast What is Cadiz with another good friend, Alfonso de Gaspar, plus Manuel de Jesulito with its peculiar “firefighter”, Pablo from Cadiz o Gineto, among others.
Curro was a singer and festive dancer. His name was Francisco Torres Tejada (Cádiz, 1925-2002). His father, a dancer of small venues, and his brother, Juan Mojiganga, singer and dancer. He was also the great-nephew of Antonia the Shrimp, Wife of Manuel Torre, and was born on Servanda Street in the Santa María neighborhood, close to La Botica Street, where he saw the light Antonia Gilibert Vargas, the most precious Pearl from the Cadiz jeweler.
They were married on July 31, 1948 in the Church of La Merced, and, although the time was not conducive for the gypsy woman to occupy the stage, the story had to wait for the daughter of Rosario the Mumps He would dedicate all his time to the care and attention of his children, Curro and Pepe - to the first one the mother would dedicate the bulería Go to sleep, my Curro–, to be revealed in 1957 in Seville.
That's where the professionalism of La Perla de Cádiz began, along with the subsequent accumulation of contracts in tablaos and festivals. And with her, Curro la Gamba, who had to leave his job at Astilleros de Cádiz to escort the treasure of his voice. They settled in Madrid, and he spread fame far and wide. flamencountil that fateful September 14, 1975, when the world of flamenco culture was shaken by the death of Antonia, “the holiest woman that Spain has ever given,” as he defined her.
«On the centenary of his birth, we renew our commitment to Curro la Gamba, the dancer and singer who, like an oyster, left the layers of his love to flamenco to dedicate his life to the care of the most valuable pearl in the Atlantic"
The last time he sang La Perla was on May 7, 1975 at the baptism of Rosa María, the daughter of his friend Félix Rodríguez, being the godparents Chano Lobato and my godmother Fernanda from UtreraHowever, Curro couldn't heal the wounds of goodbye. Sadness crept onto his face, and the scars, symbols of eternal love, weren't his final defeat, but rather a testament to his life.
Years passed and the poorly cured hoarseness took over his throat, despite the fact that in the eighties we presented him both in the festive scenes of the summer festivals and as a member of the group of Mariana CornejoIt was even featured in the 1988th Seville Biennial in XNUMX. But the verdict had been pronounced by Antonia's death.
Antonio Benítez Pérez fought the unspeakable since the extinction ITEAF (Institution for the Third Age of Artists) Flamencos) so that Curro, Pablito from Cadiz and Almond have decent help, since they did not have any pension, only the minimum income from secondary performances in peñaand summer festivals. But the sickness of his spirit, associated with endless mourning, led him to desolation, even though he always counted on the help of friends and even the peñaflamenco artists Enrique el Mellizo and La Perla de Cádiz, who showed him tremendous affection.
Let us note, for example, that June 2, 1999, when the state of health was already beginning to weaken and the economy continued to decline. Curro received, at the urging of all the peñas local and under the production of Antonio Benítez, a tribute in the Great Falla Theater, from Cadiz, with a packed house.
Curro was not, in another order of things, very given to the epistolary genre, although through the letters he sent me, as laconic as they were frank but which he only signed, and in private conversations, above all, he revealed the loneliness of an essentially noble heart and with a kindness as powerful as loyalty to a loved one.
To speculate on what Curro would have been would be to fall into supposition. What we can't speculate on is the uniqueness of his bulerías, which had a tendency toward Jerez and Cádiz, or the very Cádiz spirit he maintained in his soleá and fandango por soleá. But we can't ignore the personal cost of his altruism or his sincerity with his friends. Hence, when we learned of his passing at 2002 in February 76, it was hard to take the time to accept his loss.
It wasn't easy to disconnect from reality, and even less so to lose the memory of someone who embodied values and principles that we believe to be of eternal value. This is why, on the centenary of his birth, we renew our commitment to Curro la Gamba, the flamenco dancer and singer who, like an oyster, left the layers of his love for flamenco to dedicate his life to the care of the most valuable Pearl of the Atlantic.
