The artistic surname From Lucia Is synonymous with flamencoIn Algeciras, two brothers, 'Pepito and Paquito', grew up with their voice and guitar, respectively, as companions in a life that would lead them to become true icons of this genre. These childhood nicknames are the title of their latest album. José Sánchez Gómez, known as Pepe de Lucia, in which he has recovered previously unreleased recordings from when they were 11 and 13 years old. Twenty-one tracks from the 21s that were lost in an old quince jelly box and that include bulerías, soleás, fandangos, and seguiriyas.
Although it is the artist's latest release flamenco, his career has gone hand in hand with the greatest, such as Jose Greco. He has written songs for Remedios Amaya, Alejandro Sanz y Camarón de la Isla, and has worked on stage in various productions by different companies of Antonio gades. All this has led to the Fundación Cante of the Mines wanted to recognize him with its highest institutional distinction, the Golden Castle, which will add to outstanding awards such as the Latin Grammy that he won for Best Album of Flamenco by The heart of my people y A new universe, in addition to a third shared with the artists who participated in the tribute to Paco de Lucía Between 20 waters, or the award for Best Album of Flamenco last year from the Spanish Academy of Music for the album Pepito and Paquito, an album that was also nominated for a Grammy this year. “I have a space full of trophies, and this one is going to be among the big ones,” says the singer.
He shares his happiness that the award has arisen at this time, in a year in which Sara Baras is the star of one of the galas, because for him she is “like a sister”, he says, while praising the “unique line-up of Antonio López” in this edition, and remembers when his brother made history in La Unión when Antonio Mairena uttered that phrase: “here is, among us, the best guitarist in the world”. “I was with Camarón and Potito accompanying them in the painting flamenco", he recalls of his time at the Festival alongside one of the artists for whom he has written the most songs, and in front of "an audience that knows the music very well." cante”. He has also known all the canteSince he was a child, upon arriving in Madrid with his father and brother, he wanted to work and make a living from music. He remembers the moment they opened the doors of the Félix Restaurant, next to Gran Vía, so they could perform together, collecting tips from the diners. One of them was the actress and singer Nati Mistral. “She gave us 6.000 pesetas and gave us enough to pay off what we owed at a restaurant on Echegaray Street,” he recalls.
«For the Cante de las Minas is honored to welcome Pepe de Lucía and recognize everything he has contributed to the flamenco, with the hope that this award continues to inspire you to create music, as our festival remains a part of your memories" (Joaquín Zapata)
“Singers are born, not made”
Pepe de Lucía is still at full capacity when it comes to composing. He starts at 5 in the morning, when "his mind is most lucid," although lyrics come to him at any moment, whenever inspiration strikes. "Until I die, I'm thinking about continuing to release music and not stopping. It's like something I've recorded, so that what I do can be useful to someone," he says. Among his other works, he was the producer of the first album by Manuel Cuevas after winning the Miner's Lamp.
He has worked with many artists of the flamenco and he is clear that “singers are born, not made, because it is carried within,” because “moving through to tears is only possible when it comes from the soul.” “One of those singers who makes you shed tears is CamarónWhen he died and arrived in San Fernando, the entire retinue of gypsies, thousands of them, were making a fence around him with their hands. Paco and Tomatito were afraid to go in there, and I opened the fence and we took the coffin from him. Camarón "And we took him up to the City Hall mortuary chamber. When everyone had left, I went back to the cemetery alone and spoke with him, because we had a close bond," he says with the emotion of someone who has shared some of his fondest memories with him.
In August, he will be collecting his Castillete de Oro in La Unión, within the Cultural Agenda of the Cante of the Mines, where he will share some of these anecdotes from a lifetime of flamenco. “For the Cante de las Minas is honored to welcome Pepe de Lucía and recognize everything he has contributed to the flamenco, with the hope that this award continues to inspire you to create music since our festival remains part of your memories," says the president of the Foundation. Cante of the Mines, Joaquin Zapata.
