Antonio Cruz García, known as Antonio Mairena (1909–1983), was a Spanish musician, who tried to rescue a type of flamenco, which he considered to be pure or authentic. He rescued or recreated a high number of songs that had been almost lost, and also published several books and articles to divulge his views on flamenco and flamenco history. He considered himself as heir to the art of
Manuel Torre, the most classic flamenco singer from
Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...
, and also acknowledged the influence of other masters like
Tomás Pavón or
Joaquín el de la Paula.
Early life and career
Mairena was born in
Mairena del Alcor,
Seville Province
The Province of Seville ( es, Sevilla) is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Málaga, Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and ...
, Spain.
He won several awards, the most important of which was the ''Llave de Oro del Cante'' (Gold Key of Flamenco Singing), which he obtained in the third ''Concurso de Córdoba'' (Contest of
Córdoba). It is common belief that the contest was organized especially to grant him the award, and that the appearance of a contest was contrived to have a good excuse to grant him this honour, although some flamenco historians justify this on the grounds that he deserved the award for the service he had rendered to the art of flamenco (Álvarez Caballero 1995).
He died in Seville, aged 73 or 74.
Discography
Centro Informático Científico de Andalucía
- Discografía de Antonio Mairena.
*''Fiesta por bulerías y fandangos'' (1941)
*''Bulerías y fandangos'' (1941)
*''Disco de Tánger'' (1944)
*''Bulerías y soleares'' (1950)
*''Bulerías jerezanas y fandangos'' (1950)
*''Alegrías y seguidillas'' (1950)
*''Bulerías y soleares'' (1950)
*''Con Antonio y Carmen Rojas al baile'' (1952)
*''Disco de Londres'' (1954)
*''Cantes de Antonio Mairena'' (1958)
*''Sevilla cuna del cante flamenco'' (1959)
*''Cinco grabaciones en disco de amianto para uso personal de Antonio Mairena'' (1960)
*''Antología del cante flamenco y cante gitano dirigida por Antonio Mairena'' (1960)
*''Duendes del cante de Triana'' (1963)
*''Noches de la Alameda'' (1963)
*''Tangos de Andalucía'' (1963)
*''La llave de oro del cante flamenco'' (1964)
*''Cien años de cante gitano'' (1965)
*''La gran historia del cante gitano-andaluz (3LP)'' (1966)
*''Sevilla por bulerías'' (1967)
*''Festival de Cante Jondo Antonio Mairena'' (1967)
*''Misa flamenca en Sevilla'' (1968)
*''Mi cante por Saetas'' (1969)
*''Honores a la Niña de los Peines'' (1969)
*''Mis recuerdos de Manuel Torre'' (1970)
*''La fragua de los Mairenas'' (1970)
*''Cantes festeros de Antonio Mairena'' (1972)
*''Grandes estilos flamencos'' (1972)
*''Antonio Mairena y el cante de Jerez'' (1972)
*''Cantes de Cádiz y los Puertos'' (1973)
*''Triana, raíz del Cante'' (1973)
*''Grabación de su participación en el Festival de la Unión'' (1974)
*''Esquema histórico del cante por siguiriyas y soleares'' (1976)
*''El calor de mis recuerdos'' (1983)
Sources
ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: ''La discoteca ideal del flamenco'', Editorial Planeta, Barcelona, 1995
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mairena, Antonio
1909 births
1983 deaths
Singers from Andalusia
Flamenco singers
People from Campiña de Carmona
Spanish Romani people
20th-century Spanish singers
20th-century Spanish male singers