The foundations of reciprocity should be a constant in festivals flamencos. Beyond time and space, forgetting is characteristic of sick souls. Gratitude, on the other hand, helps us strengthen our connection to the past. And if we do not want to weaken and undo the ties that unite us and keep us alive, we must turn to recognition, which is not merely a formality, but an affirmation of human justice.
I bring up this introduction to the body of the text because the LXIV Festival of Cante Jondo Antonio Mairena Yesterday, Saturday, September 6, was dedicated to Nano from Jerez, which some have considered as a vulnerability of the event, considering the character as a minor entity.
One could agree with the deniers if, instead of focusing their disappointment on the honoree, they had focused their arguments on the anniversaries. And I point in that direction because how easy it would have been for the dissenters to make this edition coincide with anniversaries of flamencos related to the headline of the gala, such that the half-century of the farewell of The Pearl of Cadiz, the centenary of the birth of Jose Manuel Capuletti y Francisco Moreno Galvan, or, among others, the century and a half since it was published Joaquin from Paula, one of Antonio Mairena's great teachers.
Even though I don't know the criteria used by the organizing committee, I suspect that among the merits the values of integrity, humility and nobility that are brought together in Nano de Jerez will have been handled, of whom we must also mention his dedication and professionalism as a singer, his deep appreciation for the Sistine Chapel of the Cante, Mairena del Alcor, and his unconditional love and irrefutable friendship with the great maestro Antonio Mairena.
Capturing the essence of the honoree is to honor their achievements and highlight their impact on the lives of others, but also their commitment to the cante, his professional dedication and the degree of perseverance in his artistic career.
Cayetano Fernández González, known as Nano de Jerez, was born in the Jerez neighborhood of San Miguel at the end of October 1948. Son of Uncle Juane and María González, received her first artistic salary in the so-called Thursday flamencos which, in the Bullring, was directed by the maestro Manuel Morao, where he performed in shorts, and was later hired by The Cañeta of Malaga for a year and then leave for Japan.
Upon his return from the Asian country, Nano de Jerez settled in Marbella, where he met his first wife, and then performed in tablaos in Seville as The Roosters o The Trail, among others. Likewise, we cannot forget that he won prizes in the competitions of cante de Ronda y Algeciras, as well as the Dry Sack Cup, awarded by the Chair of FlamencoJerez logy during the 10th Bulería Festival, held on July 1971, XNUMX.
"Mairena del Alcor dedicated the 2025 festival to a self-confessed Mairena fan, full of ideas and intuitions of the greatest interest. Because Nano de Jerez, in addition to faithfully cultivating the aesthetic he nurtured since childhood, also reflects a keen sense of history and an uncompromising stance, acknowledging an essential connection to the influences of his friend and mentor Antonio Mairena."
On May 19, 1977, he received a runner-up award. Pastora Pavón 'Girl of the Combs' in the 8th century National Competition of Cordoba, and that year he recorded his first album supported by Felix from Utrera, which allowed their quality content to lead them, in the eighties, to alternate their performances, sometimes singing to dance, sometimes giving recitals in peñaand festivals flamencos.
A new leap in his artistic career came in 1987, when he toured different territories, together with his father and brother. El Gordo, with the proposal Uncle Juane's forge, without forgetting that in 1994 it was part of the cycle The Cuban son and the flamenco.
Among its references are the formulations of Uncle Borrico, Earthquake, Sernita from Jerez and, above all, Antonio Mairena, and although he has three solo albums, The Nano of Jerez (1977) Alrreó from the forge (1991) and The root of my cante (2022), his voice appears in New frontier of the cante from Jerez (1973), in the fourth volume of the Anthology of the Cante Flamenco from the province of Cádiz (1983), in This is how our land sings at Christmas (1986) and in volumes 26 and 27 of the History of Flamenco (1996)
Flying over the aforementioned discography, we find how from the beginning he emulated the maestro Antonio Mairena, as confirmed in the collective recording of 1973, in the bulería I will renounce the faith or that same year, in the cante de The Gilica of Marchena, by Antonio Mairena, which Nano sings through bulerías.
Later he appears in the bulería Like the Jews, and also appears encouraging the teacher with his palmas in 1974 in the Peña Flamenca Los Cernícalos, as well as in 1975 at the Mairena del Alcor Festival; at the House of Antonio Mairena, in 1978; in Morón de la Frontera, in 1978; on the album The warmth of my memories (1983) with two great friends, Joachim of Bastiannephew of Juan Barcelona, and The Poet of Alcalá; or on September 4, 1982, at the XNUMXst Mairena del Alcor Festival, when Antonio Mairena was named Favorite Son and awarded the town's Gold Medal.
Mairena del Alcor has therefore dedicated the 2025 festival to a self-confessed Mairena fan, full of ideas and intuitions of the greatest interest. Because Nano de Jerez, in addition to faithfully cultivating the aesthetic he nurtured since childhood, also reflects a keen sense of history and an uncompromising stance, acknowledging an essential connection to the influences of his friend and mentor Antonio Mairena.
The above does not contradict –our commitment lies in telling the truth– that, although he has mastered a wide range of styles, he opted for festive airs and even promoted himself among the popular masses –already thirty years ago– with the interpretation of Firefighter, Manuel de Jesulitonephew of Diego Antunez, which describes what happened at 24 La Pelota Street in Cadiz, and cante which confirms that the flamenco It arises from fate but also from the fire of hunger.
But Nano de Jerez, however, represents the flamenco natural and unrehearsed, one that even in its sweet moments can be inexplicable to us, hence this 64th Festival of Cante Jondo Antonio Mairena has honored an "antonista" who permanently elevates his memories with the eternal flight of his cantes.
