Skip to main content

El Pinini's tenth anniversary


Back in 2004, or somewhere around that time, I decided to start researching a book about the family tree of an old flamenco singer called El Pinini. Not much had been written about this man because little information existed at that time, other than time-worn tales and stories that had been passed down through the ranks of the family. The research was by no means easy and there were times when I almost gave up on the task, but being 'extremely British' in my attitude towards difficult projects, I decided to take a deep breath and carry on. That deep breath would continue for around seven years, as I painstakingly pieced together this mammoth Gypsy lineage. The book was published in 2011 by Flamenco Sapiens, the Seville based publisher that had produced my first book - Flamenco; an Englishman’s passion.

Two years later, the Spanish version of the book was published under the title of Herecia del Tiempo. The presentation of this edition took place in Seville during the celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The book, The Clan of El Pinini, charts this family’s history from their arrival in Andalucía in the seventeenth century until the present day. The mythical El Pinini was patriarch to a family that has produced some of the most respected flamenco singers of the twentieth century. La Fernanda and La Bernarda de Utrera, Miguel El Funi, Juana La Feonga, Pepa de Utrera, Bastian Bacán, Fernandillo de Morón or Pepa de Benito are just a mere few of these illustrious flamenco performers.
In order to complete this project, it was necessary to spend much time in Utrera, a small flamenco enclave in the province of Seville: this is where the mysterious El Pinini had spent the majority of his life. Even though I had access to the relevant civil registries and churches in my search for documentation, I soon discovered that many of the vital marriage, birth or death certificates were not available, or never existed in the first place. This prompted me to try to make contact with some of the great-grandchildren of El Pinini: to my delight, they helped me patch together the family’s immense genealogical tree - a chart that contains more than two-hundred flamenco performers, all of whom are included in the book. 
I suppose the 'broche de oro' was having the mammoth family tree commissioned by the flamenco museum (Museo del Baile Flamenco) in Seville, where it has been on permenant display since 2018.
El Pinini was born in Lebrija on 10 May 1863, so the tenth anniversary of the book dedicated to his elongated family will coincide with his 158th birthday. 

 

The Clan of El Pinini is available from https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Bryant/e/B00S19QOWK/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do we need another version of Harvest Moon? Elizabeth Zeder and her “weird well of musicians”

Elizabeth Zeder - Karl Smallman I seldom get excited when asked to review the recording of a cover version of a song of which I am particularly fond of the original. I am a staunch believer that original versions cannot be bettered. How can a cover version be better than what the composer originally envisaged for their music? Of course, there are exceptions, but few and far between. What is even more difficult is when the request for a critical ear comes from a friend, acquaintance or someone I respect. As I said, there are, occasionally, exceptions to the rule, one of which landed on my desk recently.  Last year, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elizabeth Zeder, an American jazz singer based in Gaucín. Elizabeth has established herself among what is fast becoming a thriving music community in the Serranía de Ronda (Málaga), and so she had no trouble selecting suitable musicians to participate in the recording of her latest offering, a jazzy-pop-style version of Harvest Moon. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fearless pensioners

  Daredevil pensioners Some of my most memorable and fulling encounters have been with the older generation, because they often show a capacity for plain speaking having passed that point when they care about inhibitions. We often ignore the link between the older and younger generations, and overlook the fact that senior citizens often act as an inspiration to the young. There are many senior citizens on the coast whose unprecedented determination to help others can sometimes put the younger generation to shame. I am often amazed at the zeal of the people involved with the various charities on the coast, especially seeing as most of them are well past retirement age. One such charity is Age Concern, a Fuengirola-based association that caters for the needs of the over 50s. Along with its programme of events to raise money to run the association, Age Concern also organises an annual challenge, a charity fundraiser that is not for the fainthearted. In 2018, the charity organise...
Post a Comment
Read more