Rafael Calderón is Niño de Olivares, a young singer to whom you could well apply the old saying "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". After several years struggling to obtain the highest prize of Union's Cante de las Minas contest, finally this year he not only brought the horse to the water, but made it drink as well.

How's it going Rafael?

Fine. I was studying for a while in my room.

Preparing the presentation of your first record?

Actually yes… how did you know?

A little birdie told me this morning and I decided to kill two birds with one stone. You must be pretty pleased with yourself I suppose...

The truth is, after such a long time chasing after something that I finally managed to obtain, I just can't believe this is happening.

How many years was el Niño de Olivares going after the Lámpara Minera?

Actually, for the Lámpara Minera only three, because that's the number of times I made it to the final round for the mineras contest.

Right, but going to la Unión, how many years?

The truth is, I don't even know myself. Some people say 5 years, others 7. What's the difference... lots. The important thing is now I've got it here with me.

Is it true what they say that the Lámpara changes your life?

I think so. Bear in mind that you don't win a prize like this every day, and in my case I can tell you that for several weeks doors have been opening that used to be closed to me. Although I don't have any definite plans yet and there are still a lot of things in the air, I managed to see two of my most important dreams fulfilled.

At least you can say it was worthwhile quitting football for cante.

Oh yes... (laughter). You never know how far you could have gone, but the truth is, it's two different worlds, and in order to make it, it takes blood, sweat, and lots of work.

The world of bullfighting has always been related to flamenco. But for some time now it seems that a lot of ex-football players have opted for a place in 'flamenco cuadro': El Capullo de Jerez, Rafael de Utrera...

It's odd, but you can't do both things, and there comes a time when you have to choose, because both paths are very difficult.

Tell me about your record. When is it going to be released?

Very soon. I'm scared of how fast everything is happening. The company wants to present it at the Feria Mundial del Flamenco (flamenco world's fair) which is going to be held in Seville from the 4th to the 7th of October.

Who's producing it for you?

Well... I'm going to record the record with Pasarela, and the producer is Antonio González, El Raya.

And the guitarists?

Look... I can't complain, because considering it's my first record, I'm going to record with Manolo Franco and Pedro Sierra.

What's this first record going to be like?

As a matter of fact, it's going to have a little bit of everything because we want it to reach the most commercial audience, as well as the most traditional flamenco followers. Manolito Franco is going to play for the traditional cante, and Pedro Sierra is going to do the more commercial songs.

Besides flamenco, what do you like to listen to when you're at home or with friends?

I listen to everything. I'm a real music-lover, so I might be listening to Antonio Mairena, Camarón de la Isla one minute, and disco music the next.

Well, good luck and we look forward to being able to hear that record.

Okay! I'll be seeing you.

Fernando González-Caballos
Translation: Estela Zatania