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Pastora Pavón Cruz, known as La Niña de los Peines (10 February 1890 – 26 November 1969), is considered the most important woman
flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
singer of the 20th century. She was a sister of singers Arturo Pavón and Tomás Pavón, also an important flamenco singer, and aunt to Arturo Pavón, the first flamenco pianist. Both brothers, Pastora and Tomás, together with singer Manuel Torre, were the inspiring models for the next generation of singers like
Antonio Mairena 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 los ...
, Pepe de la Matrona or Fosforito, who led the movement towards the revival of traditional forms in the decades of the 1950s-1970s.


Biography

Born in the famous quarter of Alameda Hércules, in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, she started singing for the public as at the age of 8, in the Seville Spring Fair. Later, when she was singing at Café de la Marina, a café cantante in Madrid, she acquired the nickname ''La Niña de los Peines'' (''The Girl of the Combs'', a nickname she never liked), as she usually sang a stanza in
tangos Tangos may refer to: * Tangos (song), "Tangos" (song), a song popularized in Spain * Tangos (district), a district or barangay in Navotas, Philippines * ''Tangos'', a 1973 album by Buenos Aires 8 * Tangos (album), ''Tangos'' (album), a 2014 album ...
style with the following lyrics: ''Peinate tú con mis peines''
''Mis peines son de canela'' Comb with my combs
My combs are made of cinnamon She never learned to read or write, and only learned to sing when she was already an adult. Her family were in dire need of money, so she started to sing regularly as a professional in the Taberna de Ceferino, in Seville, and then spent a period in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and
Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
. In this town, she was not allowed to sing in public owing to her young age, so she sat as model for painter
Ignacio Zuloaga Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta (July 26, 1870October 31, 1945) was a Spanish painter, born in Eibar, Guipuzcoa, near the monastery of Loyola. Family He was the son of metalworker and damascening, damascener Plácido Zuloaga and grandson of the orga ...
. Back in
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, she took part in the performances of several cafés cantante in Jerez, Seville,
Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
and other towns. In 1910 she made her first recordings, and in 1920 the Teatro Romea was paying her the highest fee it had ever paid to an artist. After that, she started a long series of tours in all
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. In 1922 at
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
, she participated at the Concurso de Cante Jondo. This famous music festival was largely organized by
Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...
and also
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
in order to reinvigorate the flamenco arts. She was featured as a professional performer, along with Antonio Chacón, Manuel Torre, Juana la Macarrona, Ramón Montoya and others. She was also chosen as one of the judges for the contest between non-professionals.Ángel Álvares Caballero, ''El cante flamenco'' (Madrid: Alianza Editorial 1994) at 216. Along her career she met or shared the stage with many classical flamenco singers of the
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...
like Antonio Chacón, Manuel Torre, Francisco Lema (known as Fosforito El Viejo), La Trini, or Frijones. She had also met in 1922
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
, who, in a lecture given in 1933, stated:
This woman's voice is exceptional. It breaks the moulds of all singing schools, as much as she breaks the moulds of any built music. When she seems to be out of tune, she is not out of tune: on the contrary, she is incredibly in tune as, owing to the special miracle of this style and the passion with which she sings third tones and quarter tones, impossible to record on the staff. (Quoted by Antonio Reina in
Museo Virtual de la Niña de los Peines
')
In 1931, she married flamenco singer Pepe Pinto. After the parenthesis of the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, she came back to the stage, as part of several flamenco shows, together with artists like Concha Piquer. After this, she retired for a few years, and came back with a show called ''España y su Cantaora'' (Spain and her singer), together with her husband, which she toured for a few months and was acclaimed by the critics. Then she definitely retired again. In 1961 she received an homage in Córdoba, in which several well-known flamenco artists took part, such as
Antonio Mairena 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 los ...
, Juan Talega, Manuel Morao, or Fernando Terremoto. In 1968, a monument was built in her honour in her quarter of Alameda de Hércules. In the last three years of her life, she was completely retired owing to senile dementia. She died in 1969, a month and a half after her husband. In that same year, singer
Antonio Mairena 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 los ...
recorded his album ''Honores a la Niña de los Peines'' in homage to her. In 1996, during the IX Bienal de Flamenco, the autonomous Andalusian government declared the voice of La Niña de los Peines ''Bien de Interés Cultural'' (Asset of Cultural Interest).


Artistic legacy

A complete artist, she sang all palos to perfection, excelling especially in
siguiriyas ''Siguiriyas'' (; also ''seguiriyas'', ''siguerillas'', ''siguirillas'', ''seguidilla gitana'', etc.) are a form of flamenco music in the cante jondo category. This deep, expressive style is among the most important in flamenco. Unlike other pa ...
of which she preserved several styles like those of Ciego de la Peña and El Marruro, which have reached our days thanks to her. She was a direct transmitter of the soléa of La Serneta, which she learnt directly from her author, but also left memorable recordings of many other soleá styles like those of Enrique el Mellizo, Frijones or many other styles from Alcalá, Triana or Jerez. Regarding her supremacy in
tangos Tangos may refer to: * Tangos (song), "Tangos" (song), a song popularized in Spain * Tangos (district), a district or barangay in Navotas, Philippines * ''Tangos'', a 1973 album by Buenos Aires 8 * Tangos (album), ''Tangos'' (album), a 2014 album ...
and tientos, as early as 1908, when she was only 18 years of age, a newspaper already stated: "La Niña de los Peines is justly reputed today as the best singer for tangos. She has a beautiful voice and a delicious style. At times, when singing, she seems to be crying" (Quoted by Ortiz Nuevo in ''Museo Virtual de la Niña de los Peines''). Mairena and Molina (
963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...
1979:230) consider her, among the masters of tangos: "the supreme figure (...) singer and inexhaustible creator.". Her name has become inextricably linked to the peteneras and to the bambera, a folk song she turned definitely into a flamenco ''palo''. She was also one of the main interpreters of saetas in history: "(" s to the great interpreters of this style in our century, Manuel Torre, Niño Gloria, Pastora Pavón, Tomás Pavón, Manuel Centeno and Manuel Vallejo." (Molina and Mairena
963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...
1979: 258). She was a landmark in the transformation of garrotín into a completely flamenco style, and gave a definite impulse to
bulerías ''Bulería'' (; interchangeable with the plural, ''bulerías'') is a fast flamenco rhythm made up of a 12 beat cycle with emphasis in two general forms as follows: This may be thought of as a measure of followed by a measure of (known ...
: "Unrivalled queen of bulerías" (Molina and Mairena (
963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...
1979:263). Critics like Molina and Mairena (
963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...
1979:305), Martín Salazar (1998) also highlight her importance for ''palos'' like malagueñas, tarantas, cartageneras or granaínas: "As we said before, Pastora was also an excellent ''malagueñera'', who marked with her deep personality such different styles as those of Chacón, El Canario, and Fernando de Triana. She also created her own ''malagueña'', based on the one by Maestro Ohana" (Martín Salazar 1998). She has been accused by a few critics of having surrendered to the fashionable trends in at the time of ópera flamenca, as she recorded many examples of the so-called ''canción por
bulerías ''Bulería'' (; interchangeable with the plural, ''bulerías'') is a fast flamenco rhythm made up of a 12 beat cycle with emphasis in two general forms as follows: This may be thought of as a measure of followed by a measure of (known ...
'' and cantes de ida y vuelta (both condemned by purists) and took part in theatrical shows. However, she never abandoned the more traditional flamenco songs, which form the greatest part of her discography. Even though she was a link between the traditional flamenco of the 19th century and the revival of traditional forms after the ópera flamenca period, as she kept many alive traditional songs and styles that were about to disappear, she was skeptical about the work of resurrection and classification of songs carried out by
Antonio Mairena 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 los ...
or Juan Talega. In her view, songs like the ''soleá de la Serneta'' were never the same thing in the voices of different singers, and they were but outlines used as basis for singers to improvise and create. (See Lefranc 2000: 197-198)


Views on La Niña de los Peines

"In some sort of way, Pastora Pavón was a revolutionary of the flamenco song, serving as link between the traditionalism of the last century and all the modernisms the current one, even the most detestable, which she did not reject without experimenting on them first, assimilating and enlarging everything that had some valuable element." (Álvarez Caballero 1998:249) "We already saw, in the words of García Lorca, what La Niña de los Peines was when she sang with
duende A duende is a humanoid figure of folklore, with variations from Iberian Peninsula, Iberian, Ibero-America, Ibero American, and Culture of Latin America, Latin American cultures, comparable to Dwarf (folklore), dwarves, gnomes, or leprechauns. ...
. A sombre, agonizing angel, who surpassed all measure, who embraced all emotions (…)." (Álvarez Caballero 1998:250) "Pastora is the incarnation of flamenco singing, as Bach was of music. Geniuses of the size of this Gypsy appear in history only once in a while. She is a pontifical figure who links, through her personality, the illustrious past with the present renaissance. (...) We do not know what La Andonda, La Serrana, María Borrico, Merced la Serneta and many other famous women singers sang like, but it seems impossible that any of them surpassed Pastora Pavón in the vastness of her repertoire, the freshness of the voice, Gypsy ''rajo'' and catching vitality." (Ricardo Molina, flamecologist, quoted by Ríos Ruiz 2002:103) "Among women, I have never known an artist like Pastora, and I think it will take centuries before her equal is born." (Pepe de la Matrona, singer, quoted by Álvarez Caballero 1998:252) " eferring to the singers of the ''ópera flamenca'' periodthere remains, towering, as a challenging unique figure, Pastora Pavón, La Niña de los Peines, battling the ''fandangueros'' in their own territory, the theatre stages, and achieving indisputable success with the old styles of seguiriyas, soleares, malagueñas, peteneras, tarantas, tientos and bulerías." (Martín Salazar, n.d.) "it can be assured that there has never been a more prolific and encyclopedic singer than Pastora. Nobody has had her flavour, nobody has been her equal." (Antonio Reina in ''Museo Virtual de la Niña de los Peines'') "Pastora Pavón Cruz, the incomparable Niña de los Peines, has probably been the greatest genius in the history of lamencosinging. An all-style interpreter, she completely mastered the fundamental songs (''seguiriyas'' and ''soleares''), the festive ones (''tangos'', ''bulerías'' and ''cantiñas''), the ''peteneras'' and the ''cantes de Levante'' (''malagueñas'', ''cartageneras'', tarantas'' and ''granaínas''). (Martín Salazar 1998) "With La Niña de los Peines, all discussion comes to an end: flamencologists, artists, flamenco fans, critics and everybody interested in flamenco, in general, state that she is the greatest woman singer to date." (Manuel Bohórquez, quoted by Antonio Reina in ''Museo Virtual de la Niña de los Peines'').


Partial discography


Complete works

''La Niña de los peines, Patrimonio de Andalucía'', Fonotrón, 2004, — The complete collection of her songs, recorded between 1910 and 1950, in 13 CDs, including CD ROM with a study of her artistic legacy. www.fonotron.com


Partial compilations

''La Niña de los peines, voz de estaño fundido'', Sonifolk, Madrid, 1997 ''La voz de interes cultural: La Niña de los Peines'', Colección Quejío, EMI-Odeón, Madrid, 1997 — Partial compilation


Sources

* ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: ''El cante flamenco'', Alianza Editorial, Madrid, Second edition, 1998. (First edition: 1994) * ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: ''La Discografía ideal del cante flamenco'', Planeta, Barcelona, 1995. * BLAS VEGA, José and RÍOS RUIZ, Manuel, ''Diccionario Enciclopédico Ilustrado del Flamenco'', Cinterco, 1985, quoted in * LEFRANC, Pierre: ''El cante jondo'', Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, 2000 * * MARTIN SALAZAR, Jorge: ''Los cantes flamencos'', Diputación Provincial de Granada, 1991 * MARTIN SALAZAR, Jorge: ''La malagueña y los cantes de su entorno'', Asociación Cultural Guadalfeo, Motril, 1998 * * RÍOS RUIZ, Manuel: ''El gran libro del flamenco, Vol. II: Intérpretes'', Calambur, Madrid, 2002.


External links

— Contains biography, analysis of his works, and audio samples.
Samples of Seguiriyas by Pastora Pavón and other traditional flamenco artists
—Her version of the Siguiriya of El Marruro, recorded 1928, shows her special ability for microtonal singing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nina de los Peines, La 1890 births 1969 deaths Singers from Andalusia Flamenco singers Musicians from Seville Spanish Romani people 20th-century Spanish singers 20th-century Spanish women singers