Once upon a time there was a shy young man from Granada who sang flamenco Very well. Shy to the point of being unable to speak that afternoon in the dressing rooms of the La Unión competition when I asked him how he was feeling. Victor Blaya 'el Charico' won the award for cante by siguiriyas and the bulería by soleá in the XLIV National Competition of Cante of the Mines of La Unión in 2004. Two days later I was with him in Jerez, fulfilling his life's dream, to listen in situ to the cante of their idols.
Víctor’s extreme shyness prevented a definitive breakthrough. People used to say he was “simple.” But it was a wholesome and beautiful simplicity that manifested in the absence of arrogance and in the absolute sincerity and innocence of spirit—qualities that, in him, blended perfectly with the singing he used to express everything he could not manage to say in words. In his powerful voice, carrying ancestral echoes of legendary singers, many flamenco followers have found the essence—the timeless cante, just as we had always wished to hear it, like the memory of something lost many years ago.
But El Charico could not cope with the pressure and responsibility of modern life; he did not want to get on a plane or even leave Granada if he could avoid it. He was admitted indefinitely to the hospital in Granada, where he died on the first day of 2008, at the age of 28.
"They remember Charico a lot in Granada, of course they do. He left his mark, and only the greats do that. For me, Charico was a singer who never ceased to surprise. Day after day, he was a great young man in our art form. And for that reason, I'd been thinking about paying him this tribute for a long time." (Emilio Maya)
His regular guitarist, and great companion, the guitarist Emilio Maya, has been dreaming of composing a musical tribute to his dear friend ever since. Emilio Maya speaks below:
– The purpose of this recording is to preserve his memory and his way of singing, so that it remains captured for flamenco enthusiasts who knew him and wish to listen to him again. My relationship with El Charico was something very special. From the moment we met, we already knew that something bound us together in the way we expressed ourselves through art—in this case, through flamenco. We understood each other without even exchanging glances during every concert we performed live, it was an adventure where we never knew what might happen… pure magic.
I started playing at the age of 8, and by the time I was 15 I was performing at peñas for singers, learning the songs and how they need to be accompanied, listening to masters like Juan Carmona Habichuela and Enrique de Melchor, among others.
– The CD Passages of Glory will be presented on October 18th at the Peña La Platería de Granada, and on October 24th in Tokyo to the fans of this great country. I have had the good fortune and the offer of the Peña The Platería to present the CD there, and that is very important to me, because the Peña La Platería is an emblematic place for lovers of good flamenco and a meeting place for great artists of the guild.
– El Charico is well-remembered in Granada, absolutely, he left his mark as only major artists do. He was a singer who never failed to surprise. Day after day, a young phenomenon of this great art of ours. Which is the reason for a long time I’ve had it in mind to create this well-deserved tribute. It’s a personal project that was waiting to be carried out.
The following artists participated in the recording:
Guitar: Emilio Maya
Cante recovered: Victor el Charico
Poems: Curro Albaicín
Percussion: Miguel Cheyene
Bass: Joe Endo
Listen to Charico: Bing Videos
