It flew… / When the canteThey were born / the little fandanguillo flew / and when it arrived in my Huelva / it said here I stay / how beautiful this land is.
She didn't quite reach the ground with her feet, as she's mentioned before, but she was a flamenco fairy, offering all the flavor that the fandango requires. Her hands, her small body, her gestures—everything moved, flew, and writhed with flamenco spirit in a rush-seated chair. A little less than fifteen years have passed since that day. Now we can speak without fear of being wrong of a singer who not only has the raw talent but also grows daily through hard work and that most difficult thing: passion. Passion with a capital P, a divine treasure.
Lucia Beltran Sedano (Trigueros, Huelva, 2004) is a flamenco singer with deep roots and a broad reach. She can't imagine a single day away from this art that has captivated so many of us and grants only a select few the gift of carrying it in their voices. Her roots are those that nurtured her within her family, to whom she owes much of her legacy. flamenco which she now exploits. The wings are that yearning to dedicate herself to what she loves most, the cantecontributing their bit and offering something different within the classic grandeur of this art.
Proof of his tireless artistic and professional work was the awarding, on November 16, of the young talent prize flamencos in the X International Awards of Flamenco Silverio Franconetti, distinctions intended for those great figures of art and research of flamenco with a career worthy of being recognized worldwide.
Lucía tells us that she learned she was going to be awarded the prize last May, although she wasn't aware of its immense importance and organization, nor the clear rationale behind the award. "I'm happy to have found myself surrounded by great masters of the field." cante"From dance and research, as well as occupying such an important platform as this. It's a real incentive and an honor.".
– Lucia, what became of that little girl who almost played with the fandango?
– Lucía the child is still there. The stage is still the game, but I see the flamenco as a profession. A profession I want to enjoy. To really enjoy what I do.
– Where does this passion come from? How does it grow?
– I have no record of a specific moment when it appeared flamenco in my life. I've had it ingrained since I was a child. Everyone in my family sings. My grandfather was a flamenco Seriously. A huge fan. Flamenco, flamencoShe sang soleá, she did cantemelodic ones like the vidalita, and especially canteHe was a huge fan. In those days, there were no social media networks, no YouTube, and all those things that help us so much today to learn about... cante He already enjoyed it, he knew canteAnd singers, he wrote a thousand lyrics for soleá. He recorded me canteHe would put them on his tape recorder and listen to them. He really liked Juan Valderrama.
– How did you get to Antonio Jaraqueño's school?
– As I mentioned, my grandfather taught me things, and Antonio noticed me, but we had to move to Córdoba. There I enrolled in the Conservatory. When I returned to Trigueros, at the age of eight, the Town Hall organized evenings in the Plaza del Melón, and there I sang some fandangos and songs by India Martínez. He insisted again that they take me to school.
"You can cry to a fandango by Chocolate or a malagueña by Chacón. (...) I really like Miguel Poveda; he's more of an artist than a flamenco singer. I adore Sandra Carrasco. She has artistic and professional sensitivity. I greatly enjoy those who have dedicated their lives to studying flamenco." cante, like Carmen Linares or Mayte Martín»
– In the mirror of Antonio Rodríguez Jaraqueño and other masters you look to, what reflection do you see?
Antonio is demanding of me, and very clear. He corrects me at the right moment. That makes me improve. He gives me a lot of freedom. And when he wants to teach me something from a specific flamenco singer, he tells me: study this from this singer. I learn a lot from other colleagues, like Antonio de Patrocinio: guitarist, friend, and teacher. I have a lot to learn from him, both from cante as well as what I should offer in each place I go.
– Which flamenco singers do you follow?
– I love La Niña de los Peines, Fosforito, and Enrique Morente. I'm a big fan of Enrique. He was and still is at the forefront of… canteBut every flamenco singer has something special; you can cry to a fandango by Chocolate or a malagueña by Chacón. You can learn something from every singer, both the classics and the contemporary ones. I really like Miguel Poveda; he's more of an artist than a singer. I remember some tangos from Triana at the Teatro de la Maestranza that I've seen countless times. I adore Sandra Carrasco. She has both artistic and professional sensitivity. I greatly enjoy those who have dedicated their lives to studying flamenco. cante, such as the teacher Carmen Linares or Mayte Martín.
– Are you going down that road?
– I spend all day studying, from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. I want to be sure of what I do on stage. I know almost all the styles, but I do what best suits my abilities. I like to do the canteIt's something that nobody does, or very little of it. Now I'm doing the canastera, the cabales, or the zambra, but I remember when I discovered the lorqueña in the voice of La Niña de los Peines. I immediately went to ask my teacher, Antonio Jaraqueño.
– Do you prefer flamenco singers who are a treasure trove of knowledge or those who have a dart in their throat and pinch you?
– If you don't know what you're doing, it's difficult to teach it. Knowledge is the foundation. From there, everyone has their own qualities, but the former is essential. Besides, it depends on the day. You're not always in the right frame of mind to do a certain thing. canteAnd if I don't feel well, I'll change it.
– What do you demand from a cante so that you can convey it to your listener?
– I try to get the most out of it, and I look at those who did or do that well. canteI keep shaping it until I find a way of doing it that I'm happy with.
"I ask life for the opportunity to continue being a flamenco dancer. To continue going on stage to enjoy myself and learn. Because there are things you learn through experience, but others you learn on stage, that much I know."
– In addition to the discipline of canteDo you like guitar and dance? Which guitar and/or dance teachers would you have liked to meet?
– I love the guitar. I'm more of a guitar enthusiast than a... canteIt would have been a dream to meet Paco de Lucía. I'm a big fan of Paco, Vicente, and Juan Carlos Romero. And I like contemporary guitarists like David de Arahal and Francis Gómez—he has harmony ingrained in him. In dance, I like, of course, the master Matilde Coral, Carmen Amaya, and Eva Yerbabuena. And from today, Juan Tomás de la Molía. He has something different. I don't know what it is, but he's different. Although what I really like is the cante de ahead.
– What do awards like the EFA or La Unión awards mean to you?
– Keep working. Awards are just awards. You have to keep going, because if you don't, you're left with nothing but the award. That's why studying is so important. I can really tell when someone goes on stage and has studied, or not. On November 16th, I felt honored to be sitting next to the masters Pele and Aurora Vargas, whom I admire so much. What's more, when he finished singing a soleá, Pele took my hand and led me offstage, implying that we were colleagues. For me, that's the real prize, feeling like you belong alongside such great artists. It also gives me the responsibility to keep defending my... cante And my career. When you go on stage you have to give one hundred percent. I've even sung with a kidney stone and a fever of forty degrees, but I love it so much… And every stage is an opportunity.
– How do you defend the fact of being sick and giving one hundred percent?
– The defense of that responsibility is in the mind. I like it so much that I don't care about the forum in which I act. You have made a commitment, and the commitment is until the end. I like it so much flamencoI enjoy it so much that even though it's a job, I don't see it that way. I'm lucky enough to do what I love most.
– Which places have been the most difficult?
– The most nervous I've ever been was at the National Competition in Córdoba. And I was very focused a few months ago at the Granada Biennial. Or during the saeta performance in Madrid, in front of three or four thousand people. It's a cante Very difficult. You have no references to begin with. Besides, I have a lot of respect for it because I'm a member of a brotherhood and I love it. flamenco.
– What inspires you about each place, each audience?
- The peñaThey're more traditional, more demanding. You feel right at home because of the close connection with the fans. They do a very important job and should support young people more. In fact, competitions are one way to do that. Theaters are colder, but I like them a lot. I'd enjoy myself so much at the Maestranza! On stage, I let go of my shyness and say things I'm not capable of saying offstage. And I like it when the audience tells me, 'That wasn't good,' or 'I didn't like it.' I'm a perfectionist. I believe that when you have a clear foundation and the right attitude, you can improvise, you can put your own stamp on it. I enjoy it when they tell me, 'I heard a cante And I know it's Lucia.' Perhaps it's a reward when you dedicate yourself to this twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
"On stage, I shed my shyness and say things I'm not capable of saying offstage. I enjoy it when people tell me, 'I heard a cante And I know it's Lucía.' Perhaps that's a reward when you dedicate yourself to this twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."
– Besides being a flamenco singer, you also write. What do you write about?
– I'm an amateur who aspires to be an artist, and it's important for an artist to be able to express themselves through their lyrics, their compositions. In my lyrics, I tell my life story, my feelings. I think that when an artist tells their story on stage, it's also yours. That's what happens when you appreciate lyrics like those of Manuel Molina, Isidro Muñoz, Fosforito, or poets like Federico García Lorca, Juan Ramón Jiménez, or Moreno Galván, among others.
– What do you ask of the flamencoAnd what about life in relation to him? flamenco?
– I ask for the opportunity to continue being a flamenco dancer. To continue going on stage to enjoy myself and learn, because there are things you learn through experience, but others you learn on stage, that much I understand. I still attend veterans' gatherings where we revisit... canteI know things that are undervalued or rarely done, or I attend competitions as an audience member to meet new people. All of this helps me learn every day. I hope life continues to inspire me to seek out and work on what makes me different or special. And I would like to continue being Lucía Beltrán Sedano, an ordinary woman who enjoys and shares... flamenco and life with his family and friends.
– Since the beginning of the 21st century, Huelva has been making its mark with renowned artists. Your artistic career is just beginning in this second quarter of the century. Are you aware that you could be one of the artists of this era? That you could be one of those rising stars to watch?
– I feel like an ordinary person, but of course I'd love to make my mark. My main concern is studying and doing well. Whatever comes… we'll be here.
– And apart from the flamencoHow do you imagine it? What other Lucias are there?
– My life will not be detached from flamencoI have qualifications in early childhood education, occupational risk prevention, and piano and guitar, but I can't see myself doing anything other than... flamencoYou have to have a plan B – that's what my father says [smiles] – but I can't see myself in any other position than the flamenco.
And we walk along Martín Alonso Pinzón Avenue in Huelva, talking about Tomás Pavón, making her dream of an imaginary scene where Lucía de los Peines and Paco de Lucía are by her side. She tells me she can see herself singing siguiriya to one of the greats of flamenco dance: "The siguiriya encompasses so much in so few verses!" she remarks. She knows, as Sandra Carrasco told her, that not everyone can like it, and although things aren't always the same—neither the performer nor the listener—it's important to maintain a certain standard. Because, as Lucía learned from the maestro Fosforito, the singer who feels the pain of the cante He wins the battle with himself. I, who enjoy his eternal smile, his cante And with her singing style, I beg her to continue thrilling me with a zambra, with the four moons or with the cabal of Pena, Because he knows, because he has, and because he can. To do it in such different registers, or to soar with that little fandanguillo—or rather, that fandango—that landed on this blessed earth and with which she still soars. Time has passed since that day, but the singer, the person, remains. Lucía remains. ♦
Lucía Beltrán, as a child, singing a fandango.
Lucía Beltrán, singing a fandango today.
