How can it be?
My earliest memories of my family
are of the warmth of my mother, the smile of my father, the glance of my aunt,
the affection of my cousins and the love of my brothers.
I remember that my ancestors
intrigued me and I would wonder how they had lived and what had been their
beliefs and their preoccupations, and I wondered if these things were just Gypsy
things or the things of everyday people.
My father taught me that to be Gypsy
was to be no better or worse than anybody else, but he said it was something
different to live the life with freedom, and he stressed that the respect for
others was fundamental, especially the older generation, because they are the
source of our wisdom.
The first references I have of
flamenco are from my parents, and the figure that was most emphasised was my
great grandfather, Fernando Peña Soto – El Pinini. They said that he was a
Gypsy born in Lebrija and that he had come to live in Utrera when he was
eight-years old. It was said that he was a very graceful person who sang well,
and that he was the creator of a song style known as the ‘cantiñas de Pinini’;
he was also said to have sung the bulerías, siguiriyas, toñas and soleá.
I follow with the question; how
can it be? I have memories of when I was seven or eight-years old and my father
ran a bar in Via Marciala in Utrera, a bar where the flamenco somehow smothered
you because it was in the atmosphere, in the walls... My mother hung numerous
flamenco photographs on the walls and in these photos were many of the most
prominent artistes of the time, including Antonio Mairena, Manolo Caracol and
nearly all of those from Utrera. This bar was where all of Utrera’s flamenco
performers would meet, as well as many others from outside the town.
I remember many occasions that my
cousins Pedro Bacán and Miguel El Funi came to this bar, and they would be in
the company of people who had an aspect that appeared a little strange to me.
They were blond with blue eyes, and others with long hair, very modern clothes
– these people were Americans from the military air base in Morón de la
Frontera, and they spoke with an extremely rare accent. Nevertheless, they
watched and listened to the flamenco singers with much admiration and respect.
One thing that I found strange was that they were very quiet people who said
little and rarely would they participate in the fiestas other than occasionally
playing the guitar a little.
These Americans made me realise
that our music was something important, and today whenever I travel outside of
Spain, it is the foreigner that makes me realise that our flamenco music
deserves appreciation. The only thing that gives me pain is that this flamenco,
which has been passed-down from parents to children, is more valued outside of
Spain than it is here.
Through-out my life I have
encountered many people who want to capture the tradition of flamenco, whether
poets, photographers, film directors or writers, I have tried to explain, and
help them feel, flamenco.
Some time ago, I met an Englishman
(that looked to be almost three meters tall) who was similar in appearance to
the typical characters we see in British films concerning the troubles between the
English and the Irish. However, this Englishman asked me what I at first
considered unusual questions, because he did not ask me about the singing, the
dancing or the guitar, he asked questions concerning my family.
During the course of our many
conversations, little by little, I realised that he had a special sensitivity
because I saw that the cante affected him emotionally.
It was something very special for
me when he said that he was writing a book based on my family tree, because
many have written about La Fernanda and La Bernarda, or of Pedro Bacán, but
never about the history of my family. It fills me with pride to know that my
grandchildren will be able to go to the library to read the history of their
family.
This book is not just about
flamenco, it is much more, because it is a book about the history of a culture
and of a race whose way of living is never captured in the pages of a book.
Therefore, I come to my question:
How can it be that an Englishman, who was born more than 2000km from Utrera,
approaches, and gets involved with, my culture in such a close and
understanding way?
On behalf of my family and myself,
I would like to congratulate Tony for his tireless work concerning my family’s
history; he must now consider himself one more among us, because this is what
he has become.
The new, updated version of The Clan of El Pinini is available from amazon
Luis Núñez Peña – El
Marqueisto with author Tony Bryant
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