José Monje Cruz (5 December 1950 – 2 July 1992), better known by his stage name Camarón de la Isla (), was a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
singer. Considered one of the all-time greatest flamenco singers, he was noted for his collaborations with
Paco de Lucía
Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...
and
Tomatito
José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma flamenco guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía), he has made a number of ...
, and the three of them were of major importance to the revival of flamenco in the second half of the 20th century.
Early life
He was born in
San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain, into a Spanish Romani family, the seventh of eight children. His mother was Juana Cruz Castro, a "Canastera", literally a basket weaver, and meaning from a wandering Roma family, and whose gift of singing was a strong early influence.
His father, Juan Luis Monje, was also a singer as well as a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, and had a forge where Camarón worked as a boy.
His uncle José nicknamed him ''Camarón'' (Spanish for "Shrimp") because he was blonde and fair skinned.
When his father died of asthma, while still very young, the family went through financial hardship. At the age of eight he began to sing at inns and bus stops with
Rancapino to earn money. At sixteen, he won first prize at the Festival del
Cante Jondo
''Cante jondo'' (Andalusian ) is a vocal style in flamenco, an unspoiled form of Andalusian folk music. The name means "deep song" in Spanish, with ''hondo'' ("deep") spelled with J () as a form of eye dialect, because traditional Andalusian pro ...
in
Mairena del Alcor
Mairena del Alcor is a city located in the province of Seville, Spain. According to the 2020 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term ...
.
Camarón then went to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
with Miguel de los Reyes and in 1968 became a resident artist at the Tablao Torres Bermejas, where he remained for twelve years.
Musical career
During his time at Tablao Torres Bermejas, he met
Paco de Lucía
Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...
, with whom he recorded nine albums between 1969 and 1977. The two toured extensively together during this period.
As Paco de Lucía became more occupied with solo concert commitments, ''Camarón'' worked with the flamenco guitarist
Tomatito
José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma flamenco guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía), he has made a number of ...
.
In 1976, at the age of 25, Camarón married Dolores Montoya, a Romani girl from
La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción (, more often referred to as La Línea) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia.
The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of the Bay of Gibraltar, an ...
whom he nicknamed "''La Chispa''" (The Spark).
At the time La Chispa was 16. The couple had four children.
![Camarón de la Isla y Paco de Lucía](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Camar%C3%B3n_de_la_Isla_y_Paco_de_Luc%C3%ADa.jpg)
Many consider Camarón to be the single most popular and influential flamenco ''cantaor'' (singer) of the modern period. Although his work was criticized by some traditionalists, he was one of the first to feature an electric bass in his songs. This was a turning point in the history of Flamenco music that helped distinguish
Nuevo Flamenco
New flamenco (or ''nuevo flamenco'') or flamenco fusion is a musical genre that was born in Spain, starting in the 1980s. It combines flamenco guitar virtuosity and traditional flamenco music with musical fusion (with genres like jazz, blues, roc ...
.
Health issues and death
In later years, his health deteriorated due to heavy smoking and some level of drug abuse.
In 1992, Cruz died of lung cancer in
Badalona
Badalona (, , , ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality to the immediate north east of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By popu ...
, Spain.
He was buried in a Catholic ceremony at the cemetery of
San Fernando
San Fernando may refer to:
People
*Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia
Places Argentina
*San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
as he wanted. It was estimated that 100,000 people attended his funeral.
Posthumous awards and recognitions
On 5 December 2000 the Ministry of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía posthumously awarded to Camarón the 'Llave de Oro del Cante', the Golden Key of Flamenco.
This was only the fourth key awarded since 1862.
In 2005, film director
Jaime Chávarri
Jaime Chávarri (born 20 March 1943) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter, best known for his films '' El desencanto'' and '' Las bicicletas son para el verano''.
Life and career
Chávarri comes from a prominent family. His mother Ma ...
released the biopic ''Camarón'' in Spain starring
Óscar Jaenada
Óscar Jaenada Gajo (born 4 May 1975) is a Spanish actor.
Career
Jaenada began acting at the age of thirteen, performing in Shakespeare plays. The memory of his grandmother taking him to the Rívoli Cinema made him want to become an actor, ...
as Camarón and
Verónica Sánchez
Verónica Sánchez Calderón (born 1 July 1977) is a Spanish actress. She made her debut in theatre in 1996, and came to media attention as Eva Capdevila in the Telecinco series ''Los Serrano'' in 2003. Sánchez has since developed a successful f ...
as La Chispa. The film, produced in consultation with Camarón's widow, was subsequently nominated for several
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.
The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sc ...
.
In 2006,
Isaki Lacuesta
Isaki Lacuesta (born 1975, Girona) is a Spanish film director from Catalonia. His work includes documentary film, narrative film and video art.
Lacuesta was born into a family of Basque origin. He studied audiovisual communication at the Autonomo ...
directed ''La Leyenda del Tiempo'' (The Legend of Time), in which a Japanese woman visits Camarón's birthplace to learn to sing exactly like him.
In 2018, the documentary film ''Camarón: Flamenco y Revolución'' (Camarón: The Film), from the Spanish director
Alexis Morante Alexis may refer to:
People Mononym
* Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet
* Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC
* Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer
* Alexis (comics) (1946–19 ...
, was released through
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. In an interview, the director would say that one of his goals with the film was "to explain how the myth was built".
In 2021 a museum devoted to the singer was opened in San Fernando.
Partial discography
With
Paco de Lucía
Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...
:
* ''
Al Verte las Flores Lloran'' (1969)
* ''
Cada Vez que Nos Miramos'' (1970)
* ''
Son Tus Ojos Dos Estrellas
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
'' (1971)
* ''
Canastera'' (1972)
* ''
Caminito de Totana
Caminito ("little walkway" or "little path" in Spanish) is a street museum and a traditional alley, located in La Boca, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The place acquired cultural significance because it inspired the music for the fa ...
'' (1973)
* ''
Soy Caminante'' (1974)
* ''
Arte y Majestad
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, pl ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Rosa María
Rosa or De Rosa may refer to:
People
*Rosa (given name)
* Rosa (surname)
*Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose)
Places
* 223 Rosa, an asteroid
*Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States
* Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, ...
'' (1976)
* ''
Castillo de Arena
''Castillo de Arena ''is a 1977 album, the last in a series of nine albums featuring flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía and singer Camarón de la Isla. Paco de Lucia's brother Ramón de Algeciras also contributes guitar to the proceedings. The lyr ...
'' (1977)
* ''
Camaron en la Venta de Vargas'' (2004)
With
Paco de Lucía
Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...
and
Tomatito
José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma flamenco guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía), he has made a number of ...
:
* ''
Como el Agua
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...
'' (1981)
* ''
Calle Real
Calle means "street" in Spanish and Venetian.
Calle may also refer to:
Places
*Calle-Calle River, southern Chile
*Stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia:
**Suba Calle 95 (TransMilenio)
** Suba Calle 100 (TransMilen ...
'' (1983)
* ''
Viviré'' (1984)
* ''
Potro de Rabia y Miel
Rodrigo Alejandro Bueno (; May 24, 1973 – June 24, 2000), also known by his stage name Rodrigo or his nickname "El Potro" ("the Colt"), was an Argentina, Argentine singer of cuarteto, cuarteto music. He is widely regarded as the best, most fa ...
'' (1992)
With
Tomatito
José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma flamenco guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía), he has made a number of ...
:
* ''
Te lo Dice Camarón'' (1986)
* ''
Flamenco Vivo'' (1987)
*''
Soy Gitano
''Soy gitano'' (''I Am Gypsy'') is a Spanish language television drama from Argentina.
Cast
* Osvaldo Laport as Amador Heredia - Brother of Lázaro, Josemi, and Maite, in love with Mora, then with Isabel
* Arnaldo André as Lázaro Jesús Heredi ...
'' (1991)
* ''
Camarón Nuestro
Camarón may refer to:
* Cape Camarón, a cape on the Caribbean coast of Honduras
* Battle of Camarón, an 1863 battle, part of the French intervention in Mexico
*"Camarón", a song by Paco de lucía from '' Luzia'', 1998
People with the given n ...
'' (1994)
* ''
Paris 1987'' (1999)
Other:
* ''
La Leyenda del Tiempo'' (1979) (Released as a solo album)
*''
Como El Agua
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...
'' (1981)
* ''
Soy Gitano
''Soy gitano'' (''I Am Gypsy'') is a Spanish language television drama from Argentina.
Cast
* Osvaldo Laport as Amador Heredia - Brother of Lázaro, Josemi, and Maite, in love with Mora, then with Isabel
* Arnaldo André as Lázaro Jesús Heredi ...
'' (1989) (Released with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with guest appearances by Tomatito)
*''
Camarón: Reencuentro '' (2008)
Contributing artist:
* ''
The Rough Guide to Flamenco'' (1997,
World Music Network
World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music.
The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...
)
The titles given for the first five albums with
Paco de Lucía
Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...
are those in popular usage, being the titles of the first tracks. Formally, ''all'' of them are entitled ''El Camarón de la Isla con la colaboración especial de Paco de Lucía'', as shown in the album cover image included above, with the exception of ''Canastera''.
References
*Atienza, Antonio. «Camarón se escribe con j.». Andalucía Información. Consultado el 21 de mayo de 2017.
External links
Camarón de la Isla webFlamenco Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camaron de la Isla
1950 births
1992 deaths
Singers from Andalusia
Deaths from lung cancer in Spain
Burials in Andalusia
Flamenco singers
Latin Grammy Award winners
People from San Fernando, Cádiz
Spanish buskers
Spanish Romani people
Romani singers
20th-century Spanish singers
Romani musicians
New flamenco
20th-century Spanish male singers