A biography and a collection of songs recall the legend of Camarón a decade after his death

The books are titled 'Camarón, biografía de un mito' and 'Camarón, antología'

Flamenco-world.com

The tenth anniversary of the death of Camarón de la Isla jolts the editorial sector, one which has shown very little inclination to provide flamenco bibliography, into action. Aimed at uncovering the myth surrounding the man, the Catalan editorial RBA Libros launches 'Camarón, biografía de un mito' (Biography of a legend), written by journalist Luis Fernández Zaurín and road manager José Candado. Less pretentious while at the same time somewhat poetic, is the offering from Madrid publishers Opera Prima, whose 'Camarón, antología' (An anthology) is a collection of the cantes which he sang, containing traditional popular songs, literary adaptations, and lyrics by writers such as Kiko Veneno or Joaquín el Canastero.

	Camarón (Photo: Paco Sánchez)

"The tomb of José Monge Cruz..." begins 'Camarón, biografía de un mito', the book published by RBA Libros and announced as uncovering the myth surrounding the cantaor. Journalist Luis Fernández Zaurín examines the artist's family life in an attempt to "trace his journey through life", incorporating the experiences of José Candado, "a key figure in the final decade of the artist's life, together with whom he experienced his rise to fame, glory, illness (...) and death".

The biography makes no attempt to skip over the cantaor's darker side, nor "questions of intellectual property and rights to his work, as well as many other matters little known or misunderstood until today". It also covers the story of his relationship with La Chispa, a wide selection of anecdotes, a chronology and an appendix containing photos, beginning with a portrait of the artist's parents and ending with a copy of his death certificate.

Flamenco poetry

'Camarón, antología', published by Opera Prima, is the result of "a meticulous and exhaustive listening process", a job carried out by journalist Teo Sánchez and editor Antonio Pastor Bustamante. Pastor explains that the collection "aims to be faithful to what Camarón sang, including changes he introduced, and present the lyrics as poetry, since we believe that flamenco lyrics should be considered poetry." In total almost a hundred songs are transcribed, presented chronologically indicating title, palo or style, and the songwriter - although some are traditional songs of popular origin, many others are written by outstanding lyricists such as Omar Kheyam, Federico García Lorca or Kiko Veneno.

The essence of the book is expressed by Teo Sánchez in the prologue - according to him it helps to "understand better the monumental figure which Camarón became, so long as while you read the 'hammering' you listen to the 'anvil' in your imagination, adding some palmas to the bulerías and making the alegrías vibrate with life". The mission statement is summed up even better in a sentence by Rancapino: "Flamenco should be sung with spelling mistakes". To which Sánchez adds that, "sometimes it's also written".

Both publications add a fresh note to the bibliography on Camarón de la Isla, whose career has been catalogued in titles, most of them now deleted, such as 'Camarón. Se rompió el quejío' (The wailing stopped) by Andrés Rodríguez Sánchez, published by Nuer Ediciones, 1998; 'Paco de Lucía y Camarón de la isla' by Félix Grande (Lunwerg); 'Camarón de la Isla' by Francisco Peregil (El País Aguilar, 1993); or 'Camarón. Vida y muerte del cante' (Life and death of cante) by Enrique Montiel, published by Ediciones B, 1994.

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