Chocolate gets Latin Grammy for the best flamenco album
of the year for 'Mis 70 años con el cante'
Flamenco-world.com
Long experience prevailed in the end. Antonio
Núñez, Chocolate, lifted all the wisdom packed into 'Mis 70 años
con el cante' over the work by cantaors of less-experienced generations in the
third edition of the Latin Grammies. Neither Arcángel, nor Diego el Cigala,
nor Remedios Amaya, nor Martirio could vanquish. The Jerez-born cantaor, who joins
a list of Grammy winners already lengthened by Camarón and Vicente Amigo,
had said shortly before his recent performance at the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla
2002: "I'm not going to Los Angeles even if they pay me".
The Latin Academy of Recording Arts &
Sciences had to choose one of the five candidates for Latin Grammy for the best
flamenco album of the year. Of the aspiring candidates, nominations were awarded
to Huelva-born cantaor Arcángel, for his album of the same title; the Madrilenian
Diego el Cigala, for 'Corren tiempos de alegría'; the lively Sevillian
Remedios Amaya, for 'Sonsonete'; and the flamencoized copla singer Martirio, for
'Mucho corazón'. The maestro cantaor Chocolate ended up getting the award
for 'Mis 70 años con el cante'.
Chocolate (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
The work for which Antonio Núñez
is now world renowned goes along the lines of cante chocolatero; that is,
the stress on seguiriyas and fandangos, and devaneos with styles always far from
the party such as the soleá, malagueña, taranto or martinete. At
the same time, the sound is clean: for all the accompaniment, the voice of the
cantaor from Jerez turned Sevillian is supported by the guitar of Antonio Carrión,
a regular for him as well as José Menese and Manuel Mairena, and that of
Paco Jarana, who composes and plays for artists such as the bailaora Eva la Yerbabuena
and the cantaor Segundo Falcón. 'Mis 70 años con el cante' is included
in the collection of CD books which, with the specialized label Palo Nuevo, has
been released by Muxxic for three years. Chano Lobato, Agujetas, José Menese,
El Yunque, Gaspar de Utrera... all make up the series.
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