Juan Toro Barea He was born in Morón de la Frontera in 1958, and in that world, with hardly any television or radio, he was fascinated by the flamenco Since he was little, he developed a real interest in art over time. jondo, and his expertise in the genre led him to write a book in 1998: Flamenco memory of an Andalusian feelingHe recently published a biography of Diego from Moron, a lifelong friend of his, an eccentric guitarist, son of the admired singer Luis Torres Joselero, and nephew of Diego del Gastor. Cruel fate brought about the death of Diego de Morón shortly after the presentation of his biography. Here we speak with the author about the new book.
Juan, how did the idea of writing Diego de Morón's biography come about?
<scan>Well, it’s an idea I’ve always had. Around the 1970s and beginning of the eighties, I had a very close friendship with Diego, like brothers. Those were years of shared youthful pastimes and unlimited complicity. For this reason, I always had the idea of honoring his person and his music through a biography, because a musician with a personality such as Diego’s deserves nothing less in order to make his work known and recognized.</scan>
Where does your relationship with Diego come from? Has it been difficult to gather information and research his life?
Regarding the first question, it’s a bit what I explained earlier. I was taking guitar classes with Diego and we became friends with a very special connection which led to our sharing many hours. We traveled together a lot looking for adventure, I’d go to his house and listen to him play for hours. Like I say, a beautiful friendship was born, deep and profound, lasting for several years, until I moved away from Morón and we continued to be in contact but much less often.
As far as collecting data and investigating his life, I confess it wasn’t easy. A lot has been written about Diego, but nearly always about his music, his performances or his role in the continuation of his uncle Diego’s guitar-playing. Little has been written or spoken about Diego with regard to his path through life, his infancy, his adolescence. His military service, his trips to the U.S., to Japan, his tours of Italy, his time in Catalonia with his brother José Luis, his sentimental relationships, in general everything important in a person’s life, all the more so someone as eccentric as Diego. But I confess I had a great time, it was a wonderful adventure, the kind of experience you want never to end.
"Diego is a key player in this musical heritage and in this very original way of playing and sounding. He shared very similar vital vibrations with his uncle Diego del Gastor. In my opinion, I believe that in Dieguito resided the last bastion of the Diego del Gastor school, at least in its most integral and vital conception."
What role has Diego played in the so-called Morón guitar? What sets him apart musically from the rest of the Gastoreño guitar family?
Well, through genetics. The musical heritage of Diego del Gastor was transmitted mainly through his four nephews: Paco, Agustín, Juan, and Dieguito. They are the first and most natural heirs of the Gastor universe: the quartet that inherited his artistic sensitivity and his racial imprint. Nevertheless, and interestingly, each of them has his own sensibility and is very different from the others. In this sense, Diego plays a most essential role within this musical heritage and this highly original way of playing and sounding. In my view, without this being a discredit to anyone, Diego shared very similar vital vibrations with his uncle Diego del Gastor. In my opinion, Dieguito embodied the last stronghold of Diego del Gastor’s school, at least in its purest and most vital conception.
How do you rate Morón's touch? Are you aware of the wide range of opinions on the subject?
Of course, I am fully aware of the range of opinion, and even the infighting the topic has triggered. In the book I speak about the importance of the revolution in guitar-playing as a result of Paco de Lucía and several others. The most important development in the history of guitar. But I don’t think there’s any conflict between what we feel about Paco, and another concept of flamenco guitar, a different emotional channel. These are fully compatible concepts. Diego himself was a fervent admirer of Paco’s. The thing is, we’re stuck in a dynamic and have crossed a line we are often unable to understand where we’re headed and why. Everyone is caught up in the revolution, although not everyone has revolutionary capability. As I was saying before, it’s a matter of how flamenco playing is conceived. And it would be a mistake to make comparisons—a great absurdity. Dieguito’s aesthetic concern was on another plane, and that’s where I feel the noblest and truest part of the human condition resides. It belongs to another era, which might be the most ancient or the most modern, but it isn’t the same as everyone else’s. I am a great admirer of Paco de Lucía and his entire universe, but I must say that I am more deeply rooted in and attuned to the emotion, talent, and truth conveyed by the playing of my homeland.
You seem intolerant of the fandanguera era. Do you consider yourself a neo-jondista?
If we remove from the term neojondista those connotations that might be taken as pejorative, then yes. If by neojondista we understand belonging to an aesthetic current that embraces classical flamenco but from a contemporary vision or sensibility, then yes, I do consider myself neojondista. I believe there was an era, the so-called ópera flamenca, which in general was not good for the conservation and dignification of flamenco, if we mean the word flamenco to represent the most original aspect of our cultural identity. And mind you, I say this with utmost respect for all tendencies and tastes. As far as that influence in the flamenco of Morón, it clearly had an influence, because it contributed to the popularity of flamenco in general, and that of Morón in particular on an international scale, which in turn triggered an atmosphere that brought life to Morón, to local flamenco and to the general zone of influence.
"One of my main goals when writing Diego de Morón's biography was to vindicate his figure. To contribute to the dissemination and dignification of a colossal musician and a unique figure in Morón and the guitar world." flamenco. (…) Time will put Diego in his rightful place in history.
How has the era of foreigners influenced Morón? You must have been a child then.
Yes, as you say, that was the mid-sixties and early seventies. I was a child but I have memories of those times. My parents owned a bar in Morón, the Tropezón, it’s still operating. Don Pohren would pass by regularly because it was on the way from Morón to the finca Espartero. He loved to converse, and was very intelligent, in love with flamenco through and through, fascinated with Diego del Gastor and anything that moved around him. Later on I had a great deal of contact with him. As far as the influence of that era on the flamenco in Morón, obviously it had an influence because it helped spread interest in Moròn and international visitors which in turn enhanced flamenco locally.
Do you think Diego has been fairly recognized as a guitarist?
Absolutely not. One of the prime objectives in writing his biography was to defend his career. To value and contribute to the spread, contribution and dignification of a colossal musician and a unique figure of Morón and flamenco guitar. We all love to honor the personal merit of people after they’re gone. I’m convinced time will put Diego in his rightful place in history. ♦
