An iconoclast? A terrorist? A genius? A scoundrel? A hooligan? A damnA visionary? What or who is the Niño de Elche? The fans are divided between supporters and detractors (some very detractors), but we can agree on some facts: Francisco Contreras He is a singer who in the first decade of the 2000s tried to make a name for himself in the scene, with a marked inclination towards competitions. It is likely that he discovered his limitations early on and felt at a crossroads: spend the rest of his life dragging the boots of peña en peña, or open up alternative development paths. He opts for the latter, knowing that he has three factors in his favour: his most loyal critics, who will be his best spokesperson; a certain snobbish public that buys anything that smacks of avant-garde or heresy; and time, which has the power to normalise everything and incorporate it into the canon.
What came next is well known. We have seen Niño de Elche on stage skipping rope in a tracksuit, putting a camera in his mouth to show us his fillings on a screen, crawling on the floor, singing sitting on a toilet, stripping naked and even stoically taking a slap from a Rocío Molina (to give it back to him straight away), among other feats. The plan was meticulously fulfilled: the orthodox were irritated, the more receptive cheered him on, and Contreras' career was making its way into festivals, contemporary art centers and other first-class institutions, as well as being captured in 17 albums. Let them talk about you, even if it's good.
In art, it is as important to know your own qualities as it is to recognize which paths are not for you. Knowing that not everyone is and does not have to be Camarón, neither Cervantes ni Picasso. And understand that, if your path does not exist, you have to open it with a machete, with bites, with whatever, but knowing that you can always retrace your steps. That's how we get to the Nîmes Festival (France), in which the artist, dressed in a golden suit and hat, appeared ready to consummate his ultimate provocation: a recital flamenco.
«The artist's voice may be liked more or less, those details of the house with which he mines the cantes –hiccups, sheep bleats, dissonant squeals, calculated cacophonies, artificial alliterations and even kisses to himself–, but there are not many buts to find in the final result»
Wasn't that what his enemies demanded of him, that cante by right? Wasn't that precisely what they would never expect from a self-proclaimed performer? exflamenco? Did he want to raise the death certificate of that art? Well, there we have it, accompanied by the austere and loyal guitar of Emilio Caracafe and the contained percussion and sound effects of Nessrine Rahmani, ready to reel off an almost orthodox repertoire, with hardly any concessions. This forces him, as a singer, to adopt a humility towards his craft that his more eccentric projects did not demand of him; and, curiously, it poses the challenge of being both inside and outside the norm, like Schöeringer's cat.
With Manuel Torre as the main inspiration, but also drawing on the legacy of The Serneta, The Twin, Frijones, Rengel or Chacon, among many other references, Cante Gypsy style It proposes a tour of bulerías, soleá, cantiñas, the campanilleros to a subtle blues rhythm, abandoned fandangos, a farruca with sequenced gaitas, a saeta, seguiriya (and what a pity that it was not added Perrate, which was around the area), Cartagena and tarantos to the rhythm of rumba and a calm guajira half sung, half whistled. The artist's voice may be liked more or less, those details of the house with which he mines the cantes (hiccups, sheep bleats, dissonant squeals, calculated cacophonies, artificial alliterations and even kisses to himself), but there are not many buts to find in the final result, and instead the merit of getting the public to follow it with interest for a long hour, with emotions that range from hilarity to shudder.
To finish the job, now yes, with a gift for the most festive (in the sense rave parties): that Ppppppppetenera to a disco beat with matching lights. A final diversion that seemed like a reminder that that other Paco, the one who dreams of demolishing the walls of the jondo or at least scandalize his parishioners, he has just taken a break.
Credits
Cante Gypsy style, by Niño de Elche
35 festival Flamenco Nimes
La Palobut, Nimes
January 10, 2025
Child of Elche, cante
Emilio Caracafé, guitar
Nessrine Rahmani, percussion
