El cante It really hurts. We've heard it a million times. But in the flamenco There's more to truth than just a few words. Those sweet nothings that send shivers down your spine like a whispered secret, a kiss on the neck, or a caress on the skin. Not everything is about the stomach cramps of the pellizco or the little stab in the back. There are those who seduce without raising their voice and do not need the showmanship of ostentation, the shout that demonstrates abilities –sometimes empty of transmission– or to disfigure themselves in the well-learned theater.
Alicia Gil, his daughter Carmela -Y Baby, Lito Espinosa to the guitar or Rafa Rubio—They don't hide behind pretenses on stage. They are that transparent, genuine, and good people. Mind you, I'm not saying this to diminish their artistic merit, but to add to it. Because to sing with that sensitivity, that taste, and that delicacy that they did, you need to feel as only good people and good artists feel. I had to say it. Because we critics are quick to shower praise on others when the flamenco The more media-driven, with far more fanfare, offices, resources, and fees, put on a decent show. And then there are the less frequently featured artists, overflowing with tenderness, originality, dedication, and skill, artists we tend to overlook for some unknown reason. Well, I really like what Alicia does, what Carmela—who gets better every day—Lito, Bebé, Rafa… all from a place of knowledge, passion, and pure heart.
The four of them on the front stage. Two guitars, two young men standing with their backs to a chair, and in the center Alicia, seated, warmed up with the lullaby she had included in her show. tidal seawhich then resulted in three perfectly blended voices, as they always shone throughout the repertoire. We're not going to be alarmed now by canteThe duo or trio, well-placed and in tune. Whoever came looking for attacks and blows got a pleasant handful of silks.
They rescued the Joys of the 7 shores that Carlos Lencero He wrote songs for Alicia's first album, full of froth and musicality, different, but with no lack of spice. He left his girls on stage to pour out their emotions, dedicating to their grandfather the fandangos that José María de Lepe He composed it with splashes of creativity in the expected cadences of the Choquero airs. And what a way Carmela mastered the bass! She swayed as she pleased next to the candy that Bebé melted, almost whispering her own. Lito gave way to Rafa, and the three youngsters who are just beginning to show their future remained on stage for a moment to evoke the makings of Montoyas, Fernandez y Joan of the Stir through tangos, with Carmela especially shining, full of age and rhythm, in the canteWith her little feet and hip wiggles, when she looked at the Triana dancers, brimming with grace and boldness. Charming and playful, she won over the audience. She proved herself a true artist.
"Because to sing with that sensitivity, that taste, and that delicacy that they did, you need to feel as only good people and good artists feel. (...) Well, I really like what Alicia does, what Carmela has been doing—getting better every day—Lito, Bebé, Rafa... all from knowledge, passion, and from the very depths of their being."
Carmela opened the second part with the milonga Eight capitals that his uncle The Huts She embroidered as she wove it, accompanied by her father Lito's guitar, precise, clean, always subservient and ready for the delight and the splendor of canteAnd he knew how to cradle it, modulating it as the thirds demand and with the finesse that suits it.
With moments sung in three voices, the three women shared the soleá of Triana in honor of ChiqueteAnd it was a tribute to the palate and the aftertaste, with the challenges pressed in their place and the bites in the corners where the "oles" sprouted.
Then came the smells of the Gypsy Church with that magnificent proclamation by my friend and colleague Antonio Ortega He set it to music in a song by bulerías that made everyone know what the altar of the calorrós smells like. It smells like my grandmaAnd here the exquisite nature of the word and the cante to touch the membranes of the left one again.
With nods to the soul shops de Pitingo Bebé began with bulerías, followed by Carmela who stuck to those of Manuel Molina And then he launched into the couplets to finish off what he had said so well, leaving the ending to Alicia, where he emptied himself completely, clenching his fists and confessing that Sometimes, because I love you so much, I forget about God. And after the incessant applause that thundered into a standing ovation, with the entire audience on their feet, Carmela burst forth with a toná, transforming into other new musicalities, subtly accompanied by the guitar, whose echoes descended the steps of the stage until they faded away towards the dressing room door to store their voices, as we will store them in the fond memories of those of us who witnessed the ritual of caresses that the Gil Espinosa family, or vice versa, as you prefer, bestowed upon us. a May night in the temple of flamenco Sevillian, where present and future met.
Credits
Singing Heritage: Alicia Gil and Carmela Gil
Peña Flamenca Torres Macarena, Seville
May 16th 2026
CanteAlicia Gil and Carmela Gil
Guitar: Lito Espinosa
Guest artists: Bebé Gil cante and Rafa Rubio on guitar
