The joy of El Cigala

Theater Central. Seville. September 16th, 2000.

(vidalita de Dieguito)

Which singer today can bring together Juanito Valderrama and Vicente Amigo, Pastora Soler and Fernando Romero, Arcángel and Potito, Pablo Carbonell and Gran Wyoming? Dieguito el Cigala.

El Cigala came to put things right. In his presentation in Seville he couldn’t finish the third cante. He abandoned the stage, and left the rest of the evening to a triumphant Potito. Now, on the same stage, fifteen months later, El Potito is happy to give him a standing ovation, along with the rest of the audience.

Wyoming handled the presentation, one of the "18 tough guys" in his group. As an offering of the "clean and sober" certification, there was a big-screen projection of the man, smiling with his son, and ‘Entre vareta y canasta,’ the tangos that title his intimate and original second recording. Taking advantage of Dorantes’ cancellation in the Bienal, El Cigala sang outside of the festival.

He began singing ‘Lirios y rosas.’ His performance started and finished with fandangos; the first one with his group, the second with just Niño Josele. These are his two facets: alone with a schematic yet creative guitarist that contributes greatly to his recording, or backed up by a group of nine musicians. In 75 minutes he sang four groups of bulerías camaroneras (which was not exactly the best style for his guitarist). The best of them had no palmas.

He is a master por taranto, which is easy enough to say, but, when done, is worth quite a lot. Any doubts about Dieguito el Cigala are quickly dispelled upon appreciating his ornamentation of the two tarantas, interpreted with absolute control and recreation. His martinetes were aseguiriados, his moderation improved soleares, he repeated his live tangos, and he punctuated his version of the vidalita with violin. His songs about styles that require knowledge of the singer: alegrías that start with Córdoba, passing to the legend of that "barquito de vapor que está hecho con la idea…" (steamboat made with the idea of…) A joy. A triumph.

Luis Clemente