There's no doubt that Camarón de la Isla made an impact on a whole generation of cantaores. His sound, his use of modulation, the styles he made his own... everything down to the artist from San Fernando's physical appearance has been and continues to be cultivated by cantaores like Duquende, Diego el Cigala and El Potito, and by cantaoras like Montse Cortés, Remedios Amaya, Carmen Carmona and La Tana. Duquende, who Camarón himself took under his wing when he was just nine years old, has followed in his idol's footsteps, both on stage and in his recording projects, including the remarkable ‘Samaruco’. He even toured with Paco de Lucía, and continues to do so, as a ‘substitute’ for the legendary cantaor. Good evidence of his work can be found on the album ‘Luzía’.

Another cantaor with unquestionable overtones of Camarón is El Potito, discovered and presented to the world by the Lucía family. On his first album, ‘Andando por los caminos’ (Walking the paths), he was accompanied on guitar by no less than Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, Riqueni, Cañizares... the flamenco all-stars. That was at the age of fourteen. He recorded other albums of his own, as well as working together with Jorge Pardo, Paco de Lucía (‘Ziryab’) and Ketama (‘De akí a Ketama’). And he currently forms part of Tomatito's band.

Duquende

Diego el Cigala

Diego el Cigala also began his career following in the footsteps of Camarón, who affectionately baptized him ‘Dieguito’ in 1988. His career, though, shows a constant struggle to forge his own character and style. And he's succeeded, both within the strict confines of the principles of traditional flamenco (as evidenced by the live album ‘Directo en el Teatro Real’), and on the periphery too, adorning his tangos and bulerías with a dash of pop, and more recently transplanting flamenco into other musical genres. ‘Lágrimas negras’ (Black tears), a shining example recorded alongside Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés, is enjoying international success using a basic recipe: traditional roots + expression.

And there are also those female cantaoras that have leaned toward Camarón’s ways. Remedios Amaya is a good example, and the feeling was mutual - Camarón professed a profound admiration for this cantaora from Seville. She shares with the cantaor from San Fernando her peculiar wailing 'quejío', her capacity to look outward toward other terrains, and her musicality and sense of rhythm. Although her discography is extensive, ‘Me voy contigo’ (I’m going with you) marks the point when she began reaching a wider audience and settling into her own niche in terms of style, which she followed up with ‘Gitana soy’ and ‘Sonsonete’. Another female vocalist of a clearly 'Camaronero' persuasion is Montse Cortés, who as well as forming an integral part of Antonio Canales's company, is developing her solo career. She has released two albums to-date: ‘Alabanza’ (Eulogy) and ‘La rosa blanca’ (The white rose). More recently the professional circuit has seen the arrival of Carmen Carmona from Granada, who recorded the album ‘Calivinacá’, and La Tana from Seville, chosen by Paco de Lucía to supply lead and backing vocals on more than one track of his latest album ‘Cositas buenas’

Following years of scorn from flamenco intellectuals, many cantaores are now turning to the more melodic forms of cante, to those cultivated by artists such as Pepe Marchena, Juan Valderrama and El Pena. These are palos from the fandangos family, the Latin-flavored 'cantes de ida y vuelta', cantes de Levante... There is also a concerted effort to dust off the songbooks of tried and tested cantaores who exerted an inevitable influence, like La Niña de los Peines and Antonio Chacón. Leading this movement are cantaores such as Estrella Morente, Mayte Martín, Miguel Poveda, Arcángel, Segundo Falcón... and the list goes on and on. Their common virtue is that they also make an effort to go one step further, some of them taking risks with their material or dabbling with other musical styles. Enrique Morente is, without a doubt, the godfather of this ‘school’.

Estrella Morente

The case of Estrella Morente is exceptional, as she managed to reach the top of the Spanish sales lists with her debut album ‘Mi cante y un poema’, without making any type of concession to what would be considered commercial music. The album is a compendium of forgotten styles of cante performed in the line of the great masters: alegrías, tangos, bulerías, malagueñas, taranta, media granaína... and a somewhat ‘experimental’ track using a poem by Juan Ramón Jiménez. The second album by the cantaora from Granada, ‘Calle del aire’, brings together popular Christmas carols, a concept not unlike that of Carmen Linares's ‘Canciones populares antiguas’, which in turn was inspired by ‘Canciones populares españolas’ recorded in 1931 by Federico García Lorca and La Argentinita. Her next album is due to be a direct tribute to La Niña de los Peines, a flavor of which was given in her Granada show ‘Pastora 1922’ in June 2004.

Miguel Poveda

Mayte Martín and Miguel Poveda share a common biography: Catalan, self-taught and honored by the world of flamenco in being awarded the coveted Lámpara Minera award at the Festival de La Unión. In fact the cantaora, being a little older and more experienced, took the cantaor on as her protégé. Mayte Martín's conception of flamenco leans toward sobriety, emotion and vocal beauty. She tackles all the flamenco 'palos', but without closing the doors to other musical styles that inspire her, as illustrated by her albums of boleros: ‘Free boleros’ and ‘Tiempo de amar’ (Time for loving). Her consummate flamenco work to-date is ‘Querencia’ (Home ground), an album where she covers Antonio Chacón, La Niña de los Peines, El Pena and Juan Valderrama, leaning a little toward traditional ballads. As for Miguel Poveda, he works in the same vein, but leans toward Jerez styles of flamenco compás. This duality has obtained the blessing of the most demanding and orthodox of audiences, who bow down to his appreciation of the roots of flamenco and to his technique as a cantaor. ‘Viento del Este’ Wind from the east), ‘Suena Flamenco’ and ‘Zaguán’ provide ample evidence. In addition, he doesn't shy from experimentation as demonstrated by his latest album ‘Rafael Alberti: Poemas del exilio’, a contemporary suite for chamber orchestra and flamenco voice. Madrid vocalist Paco del Pozo treads a similar path. Staying true to the most orthodox of flamenco followers but also dabbling in fusion, he too received an award at the Murcia Festival. ‘Vestido de luces’ marks his recording début.

Another force to be reckoned with in this group is Arcángel. The cantaor from Huelva started out as a child singing fandangos - the trademark of his homeland in southwestern Andalucía: Huelva. His apprenticeship saw him working in 'cante para bailar', providing vocal accompaniment for the leading names in flamenco dance. With Manolo Caracol, Pepe Pinto and Juan Talega as his influences, his career began to take off as he teamed up with Juan Carlos Romero to perform as a solo artist. The guitarist wrote and produced his two solo albums ‘Arcángel’ and ‘La calle perdía’, projects that show an interesting approach to flamenco music with a contemporary flavor. Segundo Falcón walks a similar line, the difference being that he learned his trade in his hometown of Mairena del Alcor, and thus was heavily influenced by Antonio Mairena, his artistic godfather. He's been signed up to the Eva Yerbabuena company for many years now, but always manages to find time to build on his solo career, of which his finest achievement is the album ‘Un segundo de cante’. In this project he pays tribute to ‘the three Enriques’ who inspire him: Enrique Morente, Enrique Soto ‘Sordera’ and Enrique el Extremeño. And he is also an experimenter, blending flamenco with other musical styles such as Indian or Arabian music. His show ‘Tierra de nadie’ (No man’s land) shows just that.