The flamenco community is strengthened when it is free of prejudice, when it shares all kinds of aesthetics with positive results. In short, when we approach the jondo from a deep understanding and taking into account that all historical proposals must be treated with respect, dignity, attention and, fundamentally, with tolerance.
That acceptance is what it advocates Ecijan Flamenco Night, to acknowledge the contrasts in tastes, the dissimilarities and, therefore, the cultural differences between flamencos, a proposition that, in the past Tuesday and Wednesday sessions, has become evident by harmonizing to Enrique el Moreno, a gypsy blacksmith on the centenary of his birth, with Pepe Marchena, whose fiftieth anniversary of his passing will be commemorated next December.
The night of Tuesday, June 30, was therefore focused on Enrique el Clavero (1926-2000), also known as Enrique el Moreno, a profound flamenco singer and patriarch of a dynasty of flamenco singers and guitarists. His forge had been in different locations, the one on Estudio Street, located behind the wall of the dressing room of the Nazareno de San Juan, retaining the memory, from which came thousands of nails and hooks, awls, cotter pins, door hinges, flowerpots and horseshoes, all tempered with a concentrated way of singing, with inspired details and his very high level, both for the quality and for the expressive forcefulness.
Henry was the ruler of the cantes of La Gilica, Juan el Cuacua and El ChindoAnd so he passed them on to his children Enrique, Manuel –who died in 2021– and the guitar of PacoThat is why Écija has given him this recognition in order not to lose the memory and to prevent the pathology of forgetting from overcoming history.
And to honor his memory, the cante de Pepe from Ecija, who offered a unique and transparent interpretation of Medina's petenera, highlighted the harmonic richness of the tangos and cantePiyayo surprised everyone with the uniqueness of the Lorca-style seguiriya and provided a bright and balanced sound to the cuplé por bulerías.
The recital by the singer from Écija was meticulously prepared, very well supported by Manuel Torres and privileged in detail by the trio of palmasnot forgetting the humor of his typical Cadiz tangos, or the gift his daughter gave him in the form of bulerías. María José León, thanks to an ambitious and coherent dance, in frank dialogue with the cante and validating expressive nuances worthy of the caste from which he comes.
Furthermore, let us mention the enormous stage experience of Pepe el Ecijano, to whom we presented his first album, Flamenco CasteIn Madrid in 1986, and persistent in a deep and laconic phrasing, remarkable technical solidity and carefully crafted and admirable mid-tones, in addition to launching himself during the evening in search of intense moments of cadences and absolute naturalness.
"It is clear that El Perrete's voice is at its peak, as is the Noche Flamenca Ecijana, which promotes respect and appreciation for all flamenco singing expressions from an approach that promotes equality and fosters creativity."
But this festival is about diversity, the one that embraces the broadest typological and aesthetic spectrum of flamencoThat's why the night of Wednesday, July 1st, evoked Pepe Marchena on the 50th anniversary of his death, which occurred on December 4, 1976.
Pepe, whom I was proud to know, was very closely linked to Écija. He knew, like few others, cante and creator of an indisputable discursive language and of the epic of expressive lyricism, he was a regular in these parts since 1926, when he headed a poster in the Custodian Theatre.
Further details indicate that Pepe was staying at the old boarding house on Cintería Street, and frequented the Casino of Artisans, because of his fondness for card games, and even celebrated his wedding in Écija, in the first Pirula Bar, next to the Campsa gas station, where he had great friends, being his most faithful companion The Chato from the Bell Ringer, legatee of The Cross-Eyed Sparrow which shortly before dying he gave to the undersigned his modest archive.
In this act of remembrance, it was also emphasized how exactly 40 years ago, in 1986, a monument was erected to Pepe in his hometown, created by the artist from Écija and a friend in memory. Rafael Armenta, a sculptor of comparable quality to the vocal attributes of The Dogwhich would eventually develop a proposal of elegant phrasing and without artifice, which does not have to be cold or hieratic.
El Perrete, a young flamenco singer from Badajoz, though born in Lanzarote, demonstrated in his milonga from Marchena and his soleares from Cádiz to Triana that he is growing with confidence and poise in his performance. He reveals a refined style influenced by lyricism. jondo, although with evident reminiscences of past voices, but being decisive in the execution and with numerous impactful effects, as he demonstrated in the malagueña of The Twin with the fandangos of Rafael Rivas y Juan Breva.
It should be noted that a large part of El Perrete's success is due to the Sevillian guitarist Ruben Levaniegos, a veritable explosion of harmonic richness and an indispensable support for the cante, as would be evident throughout the recital and more noticeably in the tientos-tangos or in the Cuban guajira, which the singer performed in a very stimulating way, with plenty of resources and with evident vocal demarcations.
With all cante What will remain in memory is the seguiriya of Manuel Torre with the cabal of The Pena Son, to which he contributed an attractive timbre and high registers without any difficulty, preserving the sound of the originals but with passion and excellence, continuing with the taranto and taranta of Linares according to Pepe Marchena, as well as a series of fandangos where he not only recalled a lyric by the incomparable Francisco Zambranobut offered them with open emission, without a break in the final high note, and even throaty, that is, giving guttural resonance to the voice.
It is evident, as a corollary, that El Perrete's voice is going through a great moment, the same as the Ecijana Flamenco Night, which promotes respect and appreciation for all singing expressions from an approach that promotes equity and fosters creativity.
Credits
XLVI Ecijana Flamenco Night (II)
100 Years of Enrique el Clavero
Palace of the Marquises of Peñaflower, Écija (Seville)
30 June, 2026
CantePepe the Ecijano
Guitar: Manuel Torres
PalmasMaría José León, Jorge del Pino and Daniel el Magüe
XLVI Ecijana Flamenco Night (III)
Remembering Pepe Marchena (50 years since his passing)
Palace of the Marquises of Peñaflower, Écija (Seville)
July 1, 2026
Cante: The Dog
Guitar: Ruben Levaniegos
