In the beginning of time/ before you were born/ I was already loving youSo goes the lyrics of a beautiful soleá apolá sung by Mr. Antonio Fernández Díaz, FosforitoHe recently passed away after a long and fruitful artistic and intellectual life. I give him the title of "Don" because he long deserved it, as did other legendary Antonios before him, such as Chacon o MairenaNaturally, I didn't know the cante from the Cordoban master since before he was born, nor before I was born, so I could not admire his cante in that space outside of time. However, something does happen that I've mentioned before in a discussion or lecture: I entered the flamenco through Fosforito.
I was about fifteen years old when I found an old cassette in a piece of furniture in my house. left there, most likely, by my older brother, who liked the flamenco Something. On the front of the tape, a middle-aged man with enormous, axe-shaped sideburns, very fashionable at the time. At that age, I associated the flamenco with grown-up things, old people's stuff. An uncle of mine, who had an old pickup, used to listen flamenco and derivatives, from copla to people who I would later understand as great, but who at the time I considered things outdated compared to the pop and yeyé music that I liked to listen to and dance to at parties and festivals.
And suddenly, That old tape changed my life as I listened to it. Is this flamenco"What?" I said to myself. I was stunned, it was an impact that lasts to this day, so many years later. From then on, I only had ears for Fosforito. I bought every record of his I could find. The few times Fosforito came to my city—I didn't travel at that age, of course—I would go to see him with an older friend. Naturally, over time I discovered there was more flamenco...and sometimes very good. But for quite some time the cante Antonio was a real obsession for me.
Years later, already in Madrid, I connected with many fans, I got to know the peña which bore the name of the flamenco singer Puente GenilAnd I saw that I wasn't alone in my fondness for her canteCertainly, at that time he was one of the most frequent and successful flamenco singers among aficionados. He was an heir to the Mairena style that reigned in those years, and as such, he was strongly intransigent towards anything that deviated from the canon established by Mairena. In conversations with him over so many years, I heard him describe himself as “antiflamenco"to true figures of canteI'm thinking of representatives of a later generation, but also of younger ones. Despite my respect for him, I once couldn't help but respond when he told me what I was doing Mayte Martín It wasn't true flamencoTo my surprise, he became thoughtful and did not contradict me.
"Despite his always strong character, in recent years he had softened, so to speak, and accepted as valid singing styles that years before would have been unacceptable to him. In any case, Fosforito has been for me one of the truly great artists that Spain has produced." flamencoIt was a pleasure and a stroke of luck to have crossed paths with him for many years in this world, at the beginning of my time in the flamenco»
Back in the nineties (at that time I was the director of Festival of Cante of the MinesA tribute was paid to him in the Nimes FestivalIn France. I attended. One day we went to eat at a restaurant by the sea. In the group, besides some fans and artists, was Fosforito himself, who was at one end of the table, while I was at the other. Next to me was a person I didn't recognize at first. I talked to that person a lot about everything, including... flamencoFurthermore, he participated in the group conversation. Every time he said something, Fosforito answered him, but always with an aggression that I didn't understand. I mentioned it later to one of the attendees, and he said to me: "But didn't you see who was standing in front of you? It was the Marseillais."
The MarseillaisThe cook, who lived in the area, was one of the best-known 'nurses' who used to accompany CamarónAnd they were, at the same time, his followers in everything. The aggression was understandable then. The Cordoban maestro, like other Mairena enthusiasts of his generation, couldn't stand the flamenco vision of the great Gypsy singer, who was triumphing and captivating audiences like they never had.
On Lo Ferro FestivalThe festival, which takes place at the end of July, will pay tribute to him this year, and a cultural space will be named after him. In fact, in this district of Torre Pacheco, which celebrates its prestigious festival every year, he is a constant figure of homage. The maestro was the creator of the now-famous Ferreña, an cante For whom one of the main prizes of the competition is reserved. Fosforito created it years ago with a Malagan flair. And for years he had been coming to the festival every summer, listening each year to the contestants and the participants in the galas. And he remained, at over ninety years old, fully active, participating in discussions and various events, always accompanied by his wife. I have enjoyed his friendship and wisdom for decades, but very intensely these last few years. We are going to miss him in this part of the Campo de Cartagena, which is a true breadbasket for all of Europe.
It's also true that, despite his always strong character, in recent years he had softened, so to speak, and accepted as valid singing styles that years before would have been unacceptable to him. In any case, for me he was one of the truly great singers that the music industry has produced. flamencoIt was a pleasure and a stroke of luck to have crossed paths with him for many years in this world, at the beginning of my time in the flamencoThank you, teacher. ♦
