Two years are nothing. Those of us who are getting gray know this. However, when we refer to a flamenco entity and see it moving forward with a firm step and cruising speed, it's no small amount of time. Especially considering the achievements. I'm referring to the Peña Flamenca Smuggling, from Paymogo, in the upper Andévalo region of the province of Huelva. I am extremely pleased that this institution can continue to fulfill its mission days, months, and years, and that in the current times we are in, it is brave and has planned performances in advance for the coming months.
The first artist to open the 2025/2026 cycle was the Puerto Rican Aroa Cove. To speak of El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz) is to speak of one of the most important enclaves of flamenco geography. Aroa knows this and takes pride in it. She does not skimp on her cante. That which was born from the deep-rooted passion of his family and Peña Flamenca Chumi from the town of Cádiz. Aroa has role models to look up to, but he's not like anyone else. Something that art is currently experiencing. flamenco is grateful for the lack, sometimes too much, of personalities. She came accompanied by Jesule del Puerto, a guitarist from the same town as the singer, who surprised everyone with his manner and total dedication as a backing guitarist. His silences were soundtracks.
Aroa began with malagueñas, remembering the cantes of the teachers Chacon y Twin. He settled in well, as if warming up to tackle the bulería por soleá. Very Jerez-esque in his execution. It's a palo that Aroa knows very well and gives it personality. Not in vain, it is in the rhythm where the Puerto native feels comfortable and her domains are seen. This was also the case in the joy, where she did not skimp on giving a pellizco to the ritual and geography of its throat.
"When you cante It's real, and you don't mind offering twenty reales of the duro; the thing tends to be sublime. Besides, if it's called siguiriya and it oozes out of your skin, there's little more to say. Aroa Cala poured her heart out, rousing the crowd with Juan Junquera's finish.
And when you cante It is made of real and you do not hesitate to offer clothes the twenty reales of the duro, the thing usually sublimates. Also, if the thing It's called siguiriya and it comes out through the pores of your skin. There's little more to say. Aroa poured her heart out, lifting the audience with the finish of Juan Junquera. It seems to me that the borders of Spain and Portugal representing the municipality of Paymogo will remember the grandeur of this performance for a long time rather than a short time. And after the sober siguiriyera, the bulerías celebration and a series of fandangos ended with the audience on its feet and with well-deserved applause.
Aroa deserves greater projection in peñaand festivals, and knowing the Huelva fans as I do, I would dare to say that their return to this land is closer than we suppose.
There is something that I am liking in the province of Huelva, and that is that the members, personally, and the peñas are institutionally supporting each other. On a weekend where Huelva capital has experienced an extraordinary religious and fervent Marian exaltation, with twenty-four invocations on the streets of the capital, the Peña El Contrabando enjoyed the unconditional support of fans from the town and other municipalities. This is precisely the added value of El Contrabando. An organization capable of uniting people in times where individualism is the predominant attribute of society. Furthermore, it accommodates people of very different ages, We already know the young potential of this peña, and without lowering the artistic and profound quality of those who visit the stage of this entity. Clear ahead.
Credits
Recital by Aroa Cala
Peña Flamenca Smuggling (Paymogo, Huelva)
21th September 2025
Cante: Aroa Cala
Guitar: Jesule del Puerto
