FLAMENCO IN THE SABATINI GARDENS 2006. PITINGO

Something new (at last)

Silvia Calado Olivo. Madrid, 28th July 2006

‘Pitingo con Habichuelas’. Pitingo: cante. Juan Camborio: guitar. Juan Habichuela: guest artist (guitar). Maica Sitte, Iván Sitte: coros. Matías de Paula, Irene, Juan Soto: palmas. Jardines de Sabatini. Madrid, 28th July 2006

Sometimes, you can't help thinking that the new generation of cantaores is fulfilling the bleakest of prophecies. “Cante isn't evolving”. “Cante is stagnating”. “Flamenco guitar and baile are leaving cante way behind”. Except for a few notable exceptions (more down to personality than originality), very few dare to stray from one of the two dominant trends: neo-classical or disciples of Camarón. But the prophets are only human. And just when you least expect it along comes a surprise. Being young, being restless and confronting the world head-on is nothing new, but it isn't something particularly common is the closed spheres of flamenco.

Pitingo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

That's why when a new cantaor confidently steps up onto a stage singing a hybrid of malagueñas crossed with pasodobles and accompanied by two black gospel backing singers, it seems like something is really happening. And it seems this isn't heresy, as at his side is not only El Camborio, the seasoned artist from Ketama, but also none other than the maestro Juan Habichuela. Of course it's question of taste, and there'll be many different opinions as to the offering, but it's clear that Pitingo has something new to offer.

The vocalist from Huelva is an eclectic cocktail-shaker of an artist, and the truth is it's difficult to imagine him doing something that isn't eclectic. Historic cantaores in his family tree, a Jerez upbringing, an air of confrontation about him, Madrileño sidekicks, Gospel vocalists, the Habichuela seal of approval... And, after some frankly unconvincing appearances over the last couple of seasons, it all suddenly came together, and all with a self-assured naturalness that left the audience open-mouthed. That's the way it happened in Madrid's Sabatini Gardens one fresh summer night on which Pitingo presented, with clear success, his debut album ‘Pitingo con Habichuelas’.

He came out on stage with his hair tangled, his shirt worn outside his jeans and open almost to the waist. He joked with the audience, praising the impressive “decor” and warned of some of the evening's surprises. And at the first chords from El Camborio, he kicked off por soleá. He sang in the most unhurried manner, seeking beauty in every line. And then it was time to get straight down to those harmonic ‘discoveries’ which are becoming his trademark. It doesn't always work, but it's a calculated risk - when it works, it sounds out of this world. With the same elegance, he took on the granaína, whose room for maneuver suits his vocal style down to the ground. And, with the same approach he performed the tangos ‘Celos’, not without forewarning that “it's a fusion between flamenco and soul, a song recorded with a lot feeling. And to me, everything done with feeling is flamenco”. He even found time to tell an anecdote - straight out of the ‘Lobato’ school - before moving on to a Camarón revival por taranta.

Palmas. Coros. Soulería. ‘Yesterday’, as a prelude. ‘Cómo quieres que te quiera’, the well-known line of the chorus. The voices of Iván and Maica Sitte harmonize with that of Pitingo. And flamenco discovers a new approach to vocals.

Pitingo and Juan Habichuela (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

And there was still one more ace up his sleeve. “The master of accompanying vocalists, the Last of the Mohicans, Juan Habichuela, who's like a grandfather to me”. The sound of guitars is suddenly magnified. In Córdoba they announced his retirement, but...

And Pitingo sings with refinement, carefully picking out a path between the malagueña and the pasodoble, with an unexpected twist provided by his backing vocalists. A moment of Argentinean tango with ‘Quisiera amarte menos’, which “I heard from an aunt of Raimundo Amador's”. Another crossover with little or nothing to do with flamenco, alongside the Sittes: a Spanish version of ‘On bended knee’ by Boyz II Men. Something not included on the album. And it was already time for the Gran finale - a fin de fiesta por bulerías, during which both Pitingo and Juan Habichuela strutted their stuff while the Sittes sang por bulerías. In case anyone had been left wanting more, there was still energy for fandangos, the ones where Pitingo sings of his birthplace in Ayamonte, Huelva, and that his grandfather was... you know the kind.

Pulsa sobre las imágenes para ampliar
Pitingo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)	Pitingo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)	Pitingo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
Iván Sitte and Pitingo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)	Juan Habichuela (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)	Pitingo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

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