Nearly four thousand people paid tribute to the Jerez-born guitarist on November 18th at a macrofestival which lasted over six hours and where El Torta was the star · On stage, among others, were José Mercé, Diego el Cigala, Antonio el Pipa, Farruquito, Luis el Zambo, Paco Cepero, Niña Pastori, Capullo de Jerez, Fernando de la Morena, Niño Jero…

Tribute to Moraíto in Jerez (Photo Diario de Jerez Juan Carlos Toro)

There he was. He could make out everything that was going on from the back of the stage. Impressive, as if nothing had happened, with the nut on two and playing that 'A Major' with which he wove the soniquete of the bulería time and time again. There he was. With that half-smile and that classic pose. He presided over a magical night from there, his night, the one in which Jerez made him immortal, the one in which friends and followers wished to lift him to the height of a myth, the one that will go down in history and which, one way or another, will be part of the heart of those who will never forget him. From the makeshift music stand, Morao checked out the warmth and respect that every artist had for him who appeared on the stage of the ‘Sports Palace’, some of them expressive to the max, others more reserved, but all of them with the same devotion towards a figure who made a deep impression on each and every person who knew him.

There he was, to see how his Diego has respectfully and proudly taken over his guitar, a guitar which has marked an era and which has worked a new side within Jerez toque; to listen to many of his falsetas, now in the hands of his firstborn child, falsetas which had a life of their own at times. Yes, the ones that rang out in the mythical Morao y Oro and that the crowd applauded as a consideration of his legacy.

Tribute to Moraíto in Jerez. El Torta (Foto Diario de Jerez Juan Carlos Toro)

There he was, to listen to the cracked voice of Juana la del Pipa, to feel the overwhelming personality of La Chati, having the crowd eat out of her hand with a square-like air, to discover the sweet throat of Felipa del Moreno, to recover a Macana who dusted off her best version, first por bulería por soleá and then por fiestas, and to enjoy the fine baile of María del Mar Moreno, with that angelic arm movement and dancing in place, the way it should be.

There he was, to listen to the unyielding timbre of his inseparable José Mercé, terse in words, great on stage. He masters the registers of cante as well as anybody, as he demonstrated por soleá. He radiates training through and through, and even in the way of sitting reveals the irrefutable experience and wisdom of a cantaor. Without getting away from his own ground, he wandered around Jerez, traveled through Utrera and ended up por cuplé. He remembered him in his own way: 'Que mala suerte la mía/que se ha ido mi Morao/cuando más falta me hacía' (‘What bad luck I have/that my Morao has gone away/when I needed him the most’).

There, to savor the soniquete of Capullo de Jerez, an unbridled colt and unique in his species…

Tribute to Moraíto in Jerez. Farruquito (Photo Diario de Jerez Juan Carlos Toro)