Through three great and admired friends like Pepe Luque Navajas, Gonzalo Rojo o Salvador LopezAmong others, I had the opportunity to meet artists in Malaga in the early seventies who, in hindsight, left a legacy from a diversity of approaches and who, while not all of them changed history, did shape the paradigm. flamenco of the city that was baptized as Malaga singer by Manuel Machado.
From his listening sessions in the admired Peña Flamenca Juan BrevaHaving been founded in 1958, one comes to the conclusion that Málaga is a first-rate flamenco region, and its contribution has been fundamental to understanding the development of cante, since it is the source of some of the most representative styles of the genre from the urban area of Trinidad-Perchel and with Ronda, Álora or Vélez-Málaga, among other locations, as the most prominent centers of action.
But I'm particularly interested in Coín, the birthplace of the writer and journalist Gonzalo Rojo, and also of José Rico Jiménez, another native of Coín whose centenary is celebrated on Tuesday, April 7th, even though he called himself Pepe de la IslaAs a young man, he moved with his parents to Malaga, specifically to the Huelín neighborhood, near the Colorao factory, in La Isla, where he acquired his stage name.
We are dealing with a valuable flamenco singer in his time, who became known at the beginning of the forties of the last century, in his native land, debuting as a professional in 1943 with the company Andalusian Mosaic...until his appearances a year later in the theaters of the capital, sharing the stage with Sebastian the Penalty at the Olympia Theatre, as well as at the Bahia Theatre or the Excelsior Cinema, alongside Juan Varea y Pepe Palanca, scenarios that prompted him to undertake his first tour of our autonomous community in the company of Child of the Orchard the year 1945.
Her presence gained visibility a year later when she shared the stage with Manuel Vallejo on tour with colleagues such as Fregenal Child, The Peluso, The Rerre of the Palaces o Gloria RomeroThis, thanks to Vallejo himself, opened the doors to show business for him. Andalusian solera, which rotated through different bullrings and which also featured Antonio de la Calza, Lion Boy, Ramon Montoya, Nino Ricardo o Roman the Granadan.
His life journey wouldn't be complete without a tour with Pepe Marchenathe route with The Five Latinos by the Levantine community and even with Antonio Molina y Manuela de JerezIn addition to his presence in the Malaga sales centers, which attracted the presence of two great masters, such as Antonio Mairena o Phosphorite, in addition to Antonio de la Calzá and Manuel Mairena, without overlooking the local flamenco singers, among whom we remember The Cookie, Agustin Nunez, Antonio de Canillas, Bonela Child, Blackberry Boy, Pepe the Tinker, Master Comitre and of course his teacher, Diego the Perote.
"His birthplace, Coín, perpetuated his legacy following the creation of a peña flamenca with his name, back in 1991, just like the Festival Flamenco They added the label "Pepe de la Isla Memorial," thus shedding light on the dense fog of fragile memories for the people of Coín.
He also served in the company of Jose Greco, with which she toured Africa, America and Oceania, and in which they would eventually capture her dance Matilde Coral, Rafael the Black y farruco, in addition to the young man's guitar contribution Paco de Lucía, who left the mark of their caste from Johannesburg (South Africa) to Melbourne (Australia).
His presence was also felt in Austria, the Philippines, and several Spanish cities, where they brought the priest's Flemish mass. Miguel Rojo, along with Antonio de Canillas, Niño de Bonela, Manuel Cómitre and my good friend and great connoisseur of guitars Ángel Luis Cañete.
We remember, therefore, a singer full of experiences, adapted to the historical context of his career and acceptance of the vocal transmission he received and the way of managing it, as evidenced by the discography we have in our archive, which begins with the LPs New cantes of Malaga (1978) and Malaga singer (1982), as well as the cassettes Nostalgia for Pepe Marchena (1983) Song to Mijas (1984) and Pepe de la Isla (1985), feeding the first compact Anthology of flamenco singers from Malaga. Vol. 6. Pepe de la Isla (2006), with cantes that had already been impressed in the years 1978, 1981 and 1982.
In the preceding recordings, Pepe de la Isla was accompanied by Melchor de Marchena, Antonio Vargas placeholder image, diego vargas, Manuel Cómitre, Arango, Pedro Escalona y Antonio Losada, without overlooking Lele de Osuna, John the African or Enrique Campos, in which our protagonist shows himself to be a singer of broad mastery, although with a preference for the typology of the land and the expressive discourse that defines the era in which he lived.
After a long and painful illness, a cardiorespiratory arrest and a chronic and irreversible disease, such as liver cirrhosis, ended the life of Pepe de la Isla at eleven o'clock on August 3, 1987 in Malaga, in what is now the Carlos de Haya Regional University Hospital, his remains resting from the next day in the Malaga cemetery of San Gabriel, specifically in niche 4.709 of patio number 7.
His birthplace, Coín, perpetuated his name following the creation of a peña flamenca with his name, back in 1991, just like the Festival Flamenco They added the label "Pepe de la Isla Memorial," thus shedding light on the dense fog of fragile memories for the people of Coín. ♦
