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La Fernanda and La Bernarda de Utrera documentary

 

Last year, the town of Utrera (Seville) marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of La Fernanda de Utrera, who was born at 22 Calle Nueva on 9 February 1923, with a series of cultural initiatives. Flamenco recitals, exhibitions and tertulias about this outstanding flamenco singer and her sister, La Bernarda, took place at various locations in the town throughout the year.

One of the most eagerly awaited of these initiatives was a documentary about these two divas that was to be made by La Filmahora, with the collaboration of Canal Sur television, and Utrera town hall, among others.[1]

I had been contacted by the producer, Rocio Martín, who asked if I would like to participate, an offer which I accepted wholeheartedly.

Rocío had previously contacted my good friend Luis El Marquesito to obtain information about the family, especially the line of Inés Peña Vargas, the mother of La Fernanda and La Bernarda, and the daughter of the mythical El Pinini, a singer whose family I had spent many years researching.

El Marquesito told Rocío about the work I had done concerning his family, which resulted in a book (The Clan of El Pinini), along with a family tree, a project that El Pinini’s family had supported, and which is now on permanent display in the Museo del Baile Flamenco in Seville. El Marquesito informed Rocío that I would be a good person to speak with seeing as I am considered a knowledgeable authority on this gargantuan Gypsy flamenco clan. I was honoured and overwhelmed at the proposal, and even more so because of the Pinini family’s endorsement, which is an accolade in itself.


Javier with La Farruca

My interview was set for 29 December 2022. I was not sure where my part was to be filmed, but I assumed it would be somewhere relevant in the town centre - Calle Nueva maybe? The producer had other plans. Instead, we headed to the campiña, where, at 9am on a bitterly cold and overcast morning, a chair with my name on was placed in the middle of a field, with the Utrera skyline as a back drop.

Apart from the temperature, and the descending mist, the filming went to plan, and, according to the team, my contribution had been just what they had hoped for.

The documentary took some time to complete, for Rocío had a huge list of renowned flamenco performers and celebrities to include in the production, which was finally aired on national television (Canal Sur) in the January of 2024. However, I, along with many of the other participants, had been invited to the premier, or first screening, which took place in the CaixaForum auditorium in the La Barqueta district of Seville in October 2023.

We had been asked to arrive at the venue at around 7.30pm for the photocall. A barrage of cameras awaited the never-ending string of flamenco artists and the hierarchy of Seville’s social scene, the first of whom I spotted was José Víctor Rodríguez Caro, the flamboyant fashion designer who was co-founder of the Spanish fashion house, Victorio Y Lucchino. Dressed in ‘20s-style attire (Harold Lloyd sprang to mind), Victorio headed straight over to us, but not to talk with me, but with my partner, Javier, who has known the designer for many years.

The area was soon filled with some of the most formidable flamenco hierarchy of recent times, including Esperanza Fernández, and her father, Curro **, La Farruca (mother of Farrucuito), and the celebrated guitarist Paco del Gastor, someone I was keen to meet.

During the writing of my first book, Flamenco; an Englishman’s passion, I was given a photograph of Paco from when he visited the popular flamenco tablao El Jaleo (Torremolinos, Malaga) during the early 1970s. The photograph was given to me by a dear friend, who had met the young guitarist (he was in his late 20s at the time) on that night. Thankfully, I had a copy of this picture stored in my mobile phone, which I showed to Paco, who is now 80. We spent the next 20 minutes talking about Morón de la Frontera, which is where Paco was born, and also about his uncle, the legendary Diego del Gastor, someone who was featured in the documentary because he was the favourite accompanist of La Fernanda de Utrera. 

Paco del Gastor

I was also introduced to La Farruca, again by Javier, who grew up in the same district of Seville as had her large dynasty. Her father, El Farruco, is, in my opinion, one of the greatest dancers in the history of flamenco, so we had plenty to talk about.

We were all soon ushered into the auditorium for the screening, and I must admit to being extremely nervous. We were sat with Esperanza and her father, Paco, and La Farruca, who grabbed my arm every time her father was mentioned. ‘This is my father’, she informed me with a glowing smile: although I had only been introduced to her moments before, she put me at ease with her welcoming nature and typical Gypsy sense of humour. 

 

I did not realise to after the film had finished that many of my friends from Utrera were also at the screening, including Dani de Utrera (one of today’s most orthodox young singers), who embraced me and congratulated on my participation. ‘You are a true friend of the people of Utrera,’ he informed me.

We left the auditorium and headed to the bar area, where an after-screening reception was held. This had been a truly enjoyable evening, not because I had participated in the documentary, but because when one is in the company of Gypsy flamenco performers, one is overcome with a sense of happiness.

I was approached the mayor of Utrera, Curro Romero (not he bullfighter!) who claimed that he was keen to meet me seeing as he had heard so much about this Englishman who has a passion for Utrera and its flamenco. He was interested in the Pinini family tree, and seemed surprised when I explained the time-line of the genealogical chart - 1790- to present day. Plans were set in motion for a copy of this tree to be displayed in the Casa de Cultura in Utrera, although, as with most projects promoted by town halls, this is yet to materialise.

 

Tony Bryant’s three books concerning the art of flamenco are available from Amazon.






[1] La Filmahora is an independent production company that emerged in 2020. Canal Sur Radio y Televisión is a company belonging to the public business agency RTVA of the Junta de Andalucía.

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