We were saying in our previous installment Reviewing the past means considering the seed that has borne fruit in the present, the one that allows us to process the experiences we have lived and those that, in reality, define us as a territory flamenco.
Building our personal identity thus takes us back to reinforcing connections with the past and constructing personal identity, a set of attributes that we assign on Thursday, July 2nd, to Enrique el Gandinga, probably the best flamenco singer that the city of Écija has ever produced.
Thus arose The night of Enrique the GandingaThe event, held to mark the centenary of his birth, included details about his life, such as the fact that he was the fourth son of the marriage of José García Villasanta y Carmen Rodríguez Fernández, and that he trained in the three taverns run by his father, until he changed professions to that of butcher, hence the nickname of our protagonist.
He debuted as a saeta singer during Holy Week at the age of 11, in 1937. He had already made a name for himself at the fairs of Córdoba and Lora del Río, until, still a teenager, he headed to the Campo de Gibraltar, where he mingled with Rafael the One-Eyed, Antonio Sánchez, father of Paco and Pepe de Lucía, Pastora Pavón, Antonio Mairena and his close friends The Gaditanos, Manuel Molina and Juan el Chiquetete.
From La Línea de la Concepción to Granada. In the inns along the Camino del Sacromonte, he forged the rest of his career, combining the cante –soleares, tangos, seguiriyas, saetas or fandangos– with the bulerías dance, until the end of 1946 when he visited Écija more and more frequently, especially since he contracted an infectious disease with which he would say goodbye to this world on July 1, 1948, due to pulmonary tuberculosis.
The illustrative section was reserved for the local guitarist Antonio García, son of Antonio de las Palomore, who debuted as a concert performer, bringing the vidalita to life and giving it truth, later accompanying The Yippee, a singer who presented herself as a mixture of absolute and emotional sincerity through farruca and calmly warming up with malagueña with fandango from Albaicín, where she reviewed passages that were as schematic as they were delicate.
The Moorish woman also tackled the tientos-tangos with the routine of this time, and vocalized without haste and well concentrated for seguiriyas, crowning with the subsequent bulería a very remarkable performance that we would highlight for the firm dialogue with Antonio García.
Without losing sight of the instrumental aspect, the closure of the XLVI Flamenco Night of Ecija It was the only day with a symbolic entrance fee to benefit the Red Cross, and it was dedicated With a woman's name, in redress for that bad gesture that the public made towards the Madrid guitarist on October 12, 1926 Victory of Miguel, who was booed when she was about to perform a concert piece in the Custodian Theatre.
"At the end, the dance, according to the Sevillian aesthetic, which is what Luisa Palicio advocates, adjusting all the pieces of the alegrías, but without athletic flourishes, without unnecessary twists or aggressive footwork."cante"Yes, all femininity and elegance, dressed in white with the shawl, revealing an evident supreme quality."
The opening was led by Eles BellidoThe Cordoban violinist made one thing clear from the outset: technique is essential because it is the foundation upon which the artist walks. She demonstrated this through zambra and with pieces such as Orobroy, Dorants, and Give me freedom, The Lebrijano, escorted by Alba Espert, to then display plenty of love on the farruca of Phosphorite and absorbing the values that the Requiem, Vicente Friend, can offer the chordophone instrument.
On the other hand, the woman from Cádiz Incarnate Ring He presented a personal flamenco style, very appropriate to his land, but also to the present time, singing alegrías with rigor and letting himself be heard with pleasure in the malagueñas of The Canary, La Trini and Juan Breva, also highlighting its expressive, temperate and comprehensive qualities.
Anillo represents a breath of fresh air compared to the conventional, without overlooking his diction in the soleares of Cádiz, or the correctness in learning the bulerías of his land, with attractive falls of thirds between forceful and refined, with great interpretive taste, elegant, serious and balanced, maintaining a perfect sonic union with the accompanying group he directed Pituquete.
The second singing group consisted of Alicia Gil, a Sevillian woman who is at the peak of her maturity, as she brought out her sweetness and discursive ability as soon as she presented herself as a lullaby, with extraordinary singularity, and rounding off with character and competence the warmth of the tientos-tangos, so much so that it was experienced by the public with great emotion.
Alicia, well escorted by the family group, demonstrated throughout her performance stage presence, typological mastery and expressive quality, communicating in a flexible manner and managing the thirds at will, as she did in the soleares of Triana, or when she persisted in pleasing the attendees with some bulerías endowed with frankness and sound, with very regular nuances and pleasing emission.
And to close, the dance according to the Sevillian aesthetic, which is what it advocates Luisa Palicio, adjusting all the pieces of the joys, but without athletic flourishes, without unnecessary twists or macha-like footworkcanteYes, all femininity and elegance, dressed in white with the shawl, revealing an evident supreme quality.
Palicio himself offered a soleá with a bata de cola – let's see if we understand! – which is the way to establish mastery, reviewing the contents of the Sevillian essence and proposing those moments for the enjoyment of scenic preciousness that, because of their impressiveness, were engraved in the retina as one of the most profound and beautiful works of dance flamenco.
It was not yet one in the morning and thus the XLVI Ecijana Flamenco Night concluded, an edition that has marked an exceptional trajectory, projecting the most unified plurality in all parameters concerning 2026, and interconnecting history with variety, that is, placing memory in contexts of local identity so that memories are not forgotten.
Credits
XLVI Ecijana Flamenco Night (IV)
The night of Enrique the Gandinga
Palace of the Marquises of Peñaflower, Écija (Seville)
July 2, 2026
Guitar concert: Antonio García Hijo
Cante: La Yiya
Viola: Rosa Escobar
PalmasManuel Barba and Manuel Bellido
XLVI Ecijana Flamenco Night (and V)
With a woman's name
Palace of Peñaflower corner Valdehermoso Palace, Écija
July 3, 2026
Cante:
Alicia Gil, with Lito Espinosa (guitar) and Bebé and Carmela (palmas)
Encarna Anillo, with Pituquete (guitar) and Jorge Bautista and Diego Montoya (palmas)
Instrumental concert: Eles Bellido (violin), with Alba Espert (guitar)
Dance: Luisa Palicio, with Joselito Pérez (guitar) and José Pechuguita and Juan de la María (cante y palmas)
