I have no doubt that Archangel He is today a singer of his time, with a great knowledge of the craft and capable of giving his all on stage when he wants to. On the stage where most of the performances of the I Biennial of Flamenco from Granada, in the run-up to the closing of this first edition that will offer the public the Calm down, a new palo flamenco, created on behalf of Alhambra beers, the Huelva native pulled out of his sleeve a repertoire to which we are not accustomed, since in this recollection or remembrance of the masters he did not have to travel too far into the past, he did not necessarily go to the origin of the cante, nor did he need to endorse the styles of the creators. He was ahead of his time and did not go beyond fifty years ago, a time when there were still creators, if not of styles, then of aesthetics and flamenco songs that are today hits from the more recent past. Not in vain, there was room for those old classics.
He came with the guitar of the man from Ecija Salvador Gutierrez, the percussion of Lito Manez and the choirs and palmas de The Twins. With the title Alphabet flamenco, made a sort of wide repertoire, set in gold and ivory as well as in cantes unconnected in rhythms but woven together with coherence and musical sense. the legend of time in the version of Enrique Morente gave the starting signal for their good work. For their part, a magnificent game of measuring time, entering and exiting outside of them but coupled in the finishing touches without fissures until Los Mellis, who did backing vocals almost more than Arcángel sang, altered the normal development of what was expected. During the first twenty-five minutes there was no closure of cantes, no musical breaks or room for applause, because the Huelva native put together a cante after another, also altering the original model. Thus, through bulerías he introduced the fandango of Dolores de la Huerta, The Mellis the lyrics They are put in balance by rondeñas, and again the singer the fandango of Goat Boy with an imperceptible transition to Morente's tangos. Los Mellis' choirs reappeared throughout the night. There was no respite; they were even present unnecessarily during the soup. The Bitter's Dialogue It was another injection of choruses that gave Arcángel the opportunity to put him in soleá time by bulería and finish with the slow bulería of Lole and Manuel, the first of the hits included in the alphabet of cante.Por tonás de trilla he recovered one of his own, from his 2001 album.
«The culmination came with the exultant vindication of the cantes from his homeland, in which he has no rival. Long fandangos from Huelva with personal flourishes, pointing to Paco Toronjo in two of them that touched the soul and swayed with Alosno's Canés bajos.
Here time stopped and canteIt was time to gather applause after twenty-five minutes of non-stop action.
And more choruses came back in the version of Diego Carrasco placeholder image de Colorful Lullaby, those legendary tangos in which he participated Remedios Amaya and finish with bulerías with falsetas of Paco de Lucía and echoes of Camarón, which were sung by The Mellis separately. Here, they deserve praise because individually they are capable of showing themselves as they really are, even though it would be hard for them not to accompany each other.
Archangel recovered another of the hits most current and that is aging best in the archetype of bulerías couplets of recent decades: Colored pins, by Diego Carrasco. On the other hand, I think he was wrong to borrow Salvador Gutiérrez's guitar and stay alone on stage to play different songs, and to simply remember Clothes with Dime and later to Mayte Martín with S.O.S . to finish with the tangos of Camarón Like water. He also borrowed the bulerías from San Fernando. Nothing is eternal y The old world. Where he grew was in the alegrías, which he masters to perfection, he gives them a fresh air without losing the essence of the salt and his own style is recognizable, but again more extra choruses, which only served to spoil the cante.Less doses of choirs is more.
The culmination came with the exultant vindication of the cantes of his land in which he has no rival. Long fandangos from Huelva with personal embellishments aiming to Paco Toronjo In two of them, they touched the soul and swayed with Alosno's low Canés. To finish with an encore, he went to Jerez, halfway through, to rescue the well-known theme. Air de Jose Merce that always gives results and leaves a taste flamenco in any type of audience.
Artistic sheet
Alphabet flamenco, of Archangel
I Biennial of Flamenco from Granada.
Sacromonte Abbey, Granada
26 September 2025
Cante: Archangel
Guitar: Salvador Gutiérrez
Palmas and choirs: Los Mellis
Percussion: Lito Manez
