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Do you lean towards any style in particular?

The seguiriya. It was another style I didn’t use to understand and would always set aside. Now I’m always looking forward to going to a place to see flamenco and for the cantaor to sing por seguiriyas. I was at Casa Patas recently and Agujetas sang. I got there a little late and I asked if he’d already sung por seguiriyas and a woman told me he had, but that he’d undoubtedly sing it again... even twice. And so he did.

And once you’ve gotten the base, then comes the record...

	Argentina (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

My manager had the idea of looking for a record company, but he didn’t say anything about it to me. Normally, I used to have Eugenio Iglesias or Alfredo Lagos for guitarists, so that if one was missing I could use the other. But what he used to do was to find me a different guitarist for each performance, so that I’d get used to anyone. And one of the times he talked to me about Bolita. I was afraid he wouldn’t like me, but it worked well. Since my manager knew that he composed, he asked him if he had anything for me. And he told him he was going to do a bulería for me. Things were left at that and one day my manager gave me the surprise: I was going to record an album. I asked him if he thought I was ready. And he told me of course I was, that your ship just comes in once and you have to get on it. Going into the studio wasn’t a problem for me because I’d already recorded. So we got together with Bolita and listened to his bulería. And we started looking for friends who compose until we completed the album.

Everything was forged at a studio in Jerez. What’s the ambience like there?

Since they were all from Jerez, it was more practical to go there. And as soon as we went into the studio, we felt really good vibrations. Since we were in a big hurry, we had just twenty days, it was really stressful for us to put together falsetas for a song. Nobody knows that. We took advantage of every day to the max. One day we might stick in two guitars and the voice on two songs. And everything came out well; we didn’t get bogged down. If I couldn’t get it right, I stepped outside, relaxed a bit and continued. Everyone really had the itch to work. Bolita loved it. And me, even more so. I liked the songs more and more. And the thing is that I liked everything. I had a really good time.

You’ve had young guitarists from Jerez and with a lot of personality. What do you make of them?

I love guitar. I can play it a little; just fandangos and sevillanas. When I’m rehearsing with someone, I even get dazed listening to the guitar. And it’s good to learn. I think a cantaor should know about guitar; you’ve got to be on the watch for the tone, for the note which is played for you... I was amazed by Manuel Parrilla. I’d never heard him before; I’d heard of him. Bolita really insisted on us calling him up. When we listened to him por tangos, por seguiriyas, we were all amazed. And Juan Diego, Diego del Morao... I like them all. I think they’ve been given the cante which suits each one best. Diego del Morao plays fabulously por bulería and por soleá. Bolita can’t believe I like everything. And it’s true.

The repertoire on the album combines the more stylized songs with traditional cantes. Which do you prefer?

‘El Arbol’, the bulería, is one of the ones I like most because it was the first song I had in my hands. At first, the truth is that I found it weird, but as I went along listening to it I started to like it more. The record company also liked it a great deal. And as I’d expected, it’s been chosen as the first single. I like the seguiriya, too. I’d never sung a guajira, but I love round-trip cantes. We wanted a guajira and a milonga, but we didn’t bump into anyone who had something like that composed, until Bolita came across cantaor David Lagos, who gave us some tangos and a guajira. It was hard for him because he wanted to save it for when he made his album.

Argentina (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Who are your references in cante?

Everyone. I don’t have anyone in particular because each has his positive side. Though the one I like most doing nearly everything is Tomás Pavón; I think he’s really modern. I like his seguiriya, his soleá, his fandangos, his tonás... And por seguiriyas, I really like Antonio Mairena, La Niña de los Peines, and of course, Fernando Terremoto. When I discovered him, I was amazed. When I was told he was the spitting image of his father, Terremoto de Jerez, I bought all his albums. He very nearly made me cry por seguiriyas and por malagueñas. It’s impossible to explain; you have to feel it.

How do you plan to make a place for yourself on the cante scene?

I’m trying to seek my own personality. I don’t think I have it clear yet, but time will give me my place and will give me more strength. People highlight my voice, but they still compare me to somebody. I’m usually told I’m like Arcángel, but I think we have the qualities needed to sing well por Huelva; speed, rhythm... and you don’t need to have a lot of voice. Everybody sings the same there. Arcángel has been lucky to get where he is and to be known by people. I don’t get angry with the comparison, on the contrary, but I’ll explain: everyone sings like that in Huelva. I wouldn’t like to go out on stage and hear people say I’m the spitting image of I don’t know who. Esperanza Fernández taught me that. She told us that she used to like Lole a lot and she used to be a great deal like her, but she wasn’t going to gain anything by imitating her. If she wanted to make a living out of it, she had to find another way to sing.

Now that you already have an album, what are your goals?

I think I’ve gotten off on the right foot in the flamenco world. Since I’ve come into it, I’ve been treated really well and I think I want what everybody wants: to have a place for myself, to be appreciated, to be recognized and to reach where colleagues such as Arcángel, Mayte Martín and Miguel Poveda are. After that, everyone has his own following. And I want to have my own following.

Do you feel that you’re living at a good point in time?

I’ve even been told that cante is heading for the worse. And I don’t agree at all. The other day I saw an interview with Vicente Soto ‘Sordera’ on TV and he said that guitar and baile were on the rise, but not cante. It can’t be possible for that to be said. I was dumfounded by the interview; I don’t think cante isn’t evolving. There are more and more people. My school is full of kids fifteen years old and up. And all of it adds up to flamenco having a better and better image, especially in Andalusia. You go to a peña and there’s no sound, the people are talking, smoking... I think it’s there as an obligation. And nevertheless, on the outside it’s treated more delicately. Arcángel, for example, has really been picked on. I’ve already been criticized for earning a lot. And of course, an album is demanded of you. Why? Yeah, you sing well, but you don’t have a record. And it isn’t easy at all. There are people who are promised and promised and they end up disappointed... and with no album.

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