My dear Manuel Peña Narvaez defined to Pepa de Utrera like “a flamenco singer with geraniums, like those you see now in May.” And she wasn’t wrong, because just as the plant decorates our patios and balconies with the color of its flowers, she was unique in her cante and unique in her way of dancing, also leaving her mark through the explosion of colors and shapes she left on the stage.
It was precisely my esteemed friend from Utrera who, recalling that May 3rd, the gala tribute to Kids On the tenth anniversary of her death, I received the news of Pepa de Utrera's passing, which I immediately confirmed with Joselito the Eaglemy godmother's nephew Fernanda from Utrera.
I must admit that on that day the canteThe festival-goers of Lower Andalusia were left orphaned of one of their most influential figures. Pepa de Utrera, the flamenco singer who reigned in the natural order of a world where space and time were unchanging, had died at the age of 83. We bring her to these lines today on the centenary of her birth.
But back to the point. Josefa Loreto Peña, granddaughter through the maternal line of Pinini, daughter of the Jerez flamenco dancer José Loreto Reyes, Alias The Feongo, Y de María Peña Vargas, forger of cantes shocking, besides being the sister of The Charrúa and Juana la Feonga —¡Ole, ole and ole!, for this flamenco dancer of a kind that no longer exists—, and first cousin of Fernanda and Bernarda of UtreraShe had left with her seductive charm and elegant rhythm, before she even had time to celebrate her birthday the way she liked, among friends, with lots of charm and cante and dance until your body can't take it anymore.
Pepa de Utrera, known among friends as the pepaShe said goodbye to us that cursed Sunday from the Utrera Geriatric Residence, where she was hospitalized due to a perverse Alzheimer's, after having passed through its namesakes in Alcalá de Guadaíra and Écija, where we had been visiting her since her admission in September 2003.
In the kaleidoscope of his life appears Number 19 on Nueva Street in Utrera, where he was born, to the delight of the fans., since she assumed the entire responsibility for family celebrations cante and dances so open that they would later subjugate the sane.
From there he debuted in The Guajiro (1951), from Seville, and also worked in the For sale in Antequera, in addition to appearing in the show Salt shaker of Spain (1953) of Mrs. Concha Piqueruntil 1959 when he shared with The Pearl of Cadiz a second prize for bulerías and tangos in the II National Competition of Córdoba, an award that prompted him to work in the tablaos of Madrid, showing from then on that the light of the analyst could not enter his art because his ultimate goal was to bring joy to people's lives.
"Josefa Loreto" PeñaOur Pepa de Utrera, a flamenco singer of great artistry and stature, was born in Utrera on May 1, 1926, and died in her hometown on May 3, 2009. We are now on the centenary of her birth, and Andalusia, and more specifically Utrera, still owes a debt of gratitude to someone who was born 100 years ago and bid us farewell on Mother's Day. It is an act of flamenco equity and cultural justice.
She thus became the standard-bearer of flamenco A native of Utrera, he starred in the most endearing celebrations during the times of the rhythm in the festivals and peñaflamenco, hence it deserved the Silver Mustache (1987), the very same year in which he was honored by the Peña Flamenca Utrera's Curro in his famous III Mostachón Festival.
He did not lack, therefore, the recognition of his own people, for the Peña joy 76 He was given a grand tribute in 2001, and the City Council even approved a newly created street in his honor on October 28, 2006. Passage of Pepa de UtreraBesides, two months later he discovered a mosaic on the facade where his birthplace had been.
The appeal of his art and his persona were captured in TVE series such as Flamenco (1964) Rite and geography of Cante (1971) Caminos Flamencos (1988) and The Angel (1992), and the uniqueness of her voice was captured on the LP Pepa de Utrera (1990), while also sharing other albums such as Gypsy stew from Utrera (1968) Flamenco in Torres Bermejas (1968) Flamenco revelry (1970) 9 styles of flamenco (1968) XV Gypsy Stew of Utrera (1971) and altarpiece 5 of the Anthology of the Cante Flamenco (1978)
They came to light in the 1980s Utrera sings (1982) Masters of flamencoFlamenco rumba (1988) The bulería. A great party (1988) Flamenco rumba. Grace and spirit (1988) and Utrera live (1998)
However, after the fall she suffered at her family home in January 1998, in which she broke her hip, Pepa's problems increased, so We grew accustomed to admiring her from memory: her singing end was beauty. As a passionate woman, she didn't use passions for their own sake, but rather as imaginative stimuli. She would begin by engaging the flamenco aficionado's understanding of the boulea tradition and end up captivating them completely.
This continued until six o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, May 3, when The bulería, tangos, cantiñas, fandangos and rumbas, above all, felt the loss of Pepa de Utrera, who was the very embodiment of the reason for rhythm., power limited only by the divine reason of the Christ of the Gypsies.
The afternoon of the following day, after the funeral held in the Parish of St. James the GreaterUtrera once again lifted the veil of the everyday, while the brushes of imagination painted on the dome of Consolación the echo, the rethinking and the sound of one who transcended his own social reality.
Josefa Loreto PeñaOur Pepa de Utrera, a flamenco singer of great artistry and stature, was born in Utrera on May 1, 1926, and died in her hometown on May 3, 2009. As we mentioned, we are commemorating the centenary of her birth, and Andalusia, and more specifically Utrera, still owes a debt of gratitude—for her significant contributions—to the woman who was born 100 years ago and bid us farewell on Mother's Day. It is an act of flamenco equity and cultural justice. ♦
