Throughout this year, Jerez is holding a series of events to commemorate the centenary of the birth of this illustrious poet and composer. Born on Antonia de Dios Street, in the Albarizuela neighborhood of Jerez, he was a multifaceted artist who explored different fields such as photography, theater, and songwriting.
In this last section, Antonio Gallardo Molina (Jerez, 1925 – 2013) was a prolific author with more than seven hundred works registered with the SGAE (Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers). A giant of the copla and the flamenco They recorded some of their lyrics. Manolo Caracol, Lola Flores, Rocío Jurado, Rafael Farina, María José Santiago… were some of the names that carried in their voices the lyrics of our protagonist.
And in purely practical terms flamenco It should be noted that he was the discoverer and first mentor of a blond boy from Santiago who sang in his neighborhood to the patron saint of Jerez. In time, that boy, named José Soto Soto, would come to be known as José Mercé. The list would be quite long if we were to review all the performers who drew inspiration from Antonio Gallardo's work. To mention just a few, we'll focus on the group he himself named and recorded for Polydor as... The Pharaohs that formed names like those of Gómez de Jerez, Lorenzo Gálvez 'Ripoll', Luis Paulera, Pepe de Joaquina, Moraíto de Maora and Moraíto de Ramona, in collaboration with Diego Carrasco placeholder image (known in those years as Tate de Jerez). The same group of young people who brought it to market Flamenco Mass in those early years of the 70s, and to which names such as Manuel Lozano 'el Carbonero' were added.
"Antonio Gallardo was not only an exceptional and original lyricist. He was also a true pioneer in the world of Flamenco Christmas music in his hometown of Jerez de la Frontera."
But the flamenco work reaches María Vargas, La Sallago and some artists closer to today such as Macanita, Miguel Poveda, Jesús Méndez or even Rosalia, who suggested some passages from Jerez in his first recordings on disc.
The tandem formed by Antonio Gallardo and The Paquera of JerezThose Bulerías from the Plaza del Arenal and the I curse your green eyes They made the singer from the San Miguel neighborhood very popular. A collaboration that resulted in numerous LPs, showcasing a very particular understanding between them.
In this regard, it is worth noting the Francisca Méndez Garrido's Christmas record collection Back in the 60s, and with a very particular method: Gallardo used the melodies of popular Christmas carols but added new verses. For example, the poet wrote lyrics of his own in Road to Egypt from La Paquera but with the melodies of the well-known romance Sailor to the waterAnd so it was in several compositions. And some twenty years before the release of that collection of This is how our land sings at Christmas of the Chair of FlamencoJerez tradition. This makes Antonio Gallardo not only an exceptional and original lyricist, but also a true pioneer in the world of Flamenco Christmas carols in his hometown of Jerez de la Frontera. Not forgetting his famous work Her divine little face sung by María José Santiago and the Zambomba of the Villamarta Theatre From New York to Jerez all with The Reedbeds.
