Revisiting the work of what is still the most popular flamenco in Extremadura is always a pleasure. Because this is the most relevant characteristic of the singer, his sensuality. And I’m not just referring to the enormous plasticity and the great color of his voice , which is, of course, what matters most. The one from Badajoz also cultivated an extravagant image that was ahead of his time or that extended the values ​​of the previous stage, however we want to see it. In this aspect, as in many others, his teacher was Nino de Marchena, who made it fashionable to sing standing up. Porrinas said, in some interviews, that he did not want his pants to wrinkle. And that’s why he always sang with his hands resting on the back of his chair. Then there were their perennialsdark glasses and his carnation in his lapel. And the frills, the patterned jackets, the fancy ties, the brightly colored shirts and pants. “I like any color that is rare, I like green shoes,” says Zambrano Vazquez in one of the interviews included in this book. Rings, gold bracelets. The fur coats. And, as icing on the cake, the “marques” hint. But this candy wrapper should not mislead us about the content. Porrinas is a singer who, in addition to the sensuality of her vocal style, has a wide and deep knowledge of the flamenco repertoire.
Jose Salazar Molina, (Badajoz, 1924-Madrid, 1977), Porrinas de Badajoz para el arte, carried out his first public performance in 1934, at the age of nine, where the fan Jose Porras, the singer’s godfather, christened him Nino Porrinas . The cantaor, Zambrano Vazquez tells us, got married when he was 15 and at 16 he is already a father. In the post-war period he lives from parties and some performances in theaters in the area. In 1951 he moved to Madrid with his second wife encouraged by his fellow countryman, the guitarist Pepe de Badajoz. Manolo de Badajoz, brother of the previous one, introduces him to the Villa Rosaand in the circle of flamenco fans in Madrid who could afford a private party. Precisely with Justo de Badajoz, Manolo’s son, he recorded some of his first albums, in 1956. In these first recordings, made between 1953 and 1956, he was already a mature, complete singer, and had developed his own cante, the fandango. . In 1952 he had replaced Rafael Farina due to illness , recommended by the singer from Salamanca himself, in the work La copla andaluza, at the Pavon theater, which both would later take to the big screen (1959), under the direction of Jeronimo Mihura. This work meant the definitive consecration before the great public and the beginning of a long and very rich discography. He is hired by Concha Piquerfor his work Salero de Espana and then by Pepe Marchena for his show Pasan las coplas (1954). From his contact with Marchena, together with the advice he had received at the time from Pepe and Manolo de Badajoz, the public character emerged characterized by his striking clothing, his dark glasses and his taste for singing standing up. In 1957 he set up his own company with which he also triumphed in Andalusia, in addition to the rest of Spain. Artistically, he successfully survived the changes that occurred in the world of flamenco in the 60s and 70s, also participating in the phenomenon of flamenco festivals and penalties, areas in which he continued to be a star, without forgetting the theaters and private parties, which continued to be their main ways of life, in addition to records. Like other singers of the previous stage, sometimes called opera flamenco, he joined the phenomenon of anthologies, which he titled Historia del cante (1974), to vindicate himself as a general singer. He recorded, in addition to Justo de Badajoz, withNino Ricardo , Paco Aguilera, Carlos Montoya, Melchor de Marchena , Pepe de Badajoz, Ramon Montoya, Antonio Arenas, Juan Salazar, Manolo Sanlucar , Antonio de Cordoba and Maestro Terron. Zambrano Vazquez makes a meticulous arrangement of this huge discography that includes slate records, vinyl, posthumous records and cassettes. An exemplary, rigorous record work that, however, would have a phenomenal reception among the general public.
Regarding the name “flamenco opera”, I think that the foreign singer only participated in a show named like that, in 1935, in the Badajoz Bullring, whose poster reproduces this work, entitled Life and work of Porrinas de Badajoz. And it is that the denomination of flamenco opera practically disappeared withVedrines and his heir, Montserrat, so that in the post-war period we hardly find her on some posters from the 1940s. In the 1950s, when Porrinas rose to popularity, the term was completely banished.
Star of the tablaos and troupe shows with Juanito Valderrama and Marchena. The most famous and complete singer from Extremadura sang and recorded all styles, giving them his personal stamp, which some considered heterodoxy. He created his own fandango of his own, as we have said, and made Extremaduran jaleos and tangos known to the general public. He was also a teacher in the Levantine styles and in the Chaconian school. The singer died in 1977 as a result of the cirrhosis that he had suffered since the late 1950s.
This work collects, for the first time, the list of the complete recordings of the singer, including the slate records he made in 1953 and 1956, in the swan song of this format, replaced precisely at that time by vinyl, with the guitars by Paco Aguilera, Justo de Badajoz and Nino Ricardo. With the advent of vinyl, his voice is abundantly recorded to the point of recording, up to the date of his death, a total of 321 cantes , including the four volumes of his monumental Historia del cante (1974), already mentioned. In addition to pondering his vocal characteristics, cleanliness, timbre, sense of rhythm, power, etc., Zambrano highlights his mastery of the complete flamenco deck, underlining his mastery in styles such as tientos, tangos, jaleos, the seguiriyas, the malaguenas (Chacon, El Canario, La Trini, El Mellizo), peteneras, serranas, alboreas extremenas, tarantas and fandangos, of which I record different variants, in addition to my own. His “fado por bulerias” was even applauded by Amalia Rodrigues.
Regarding the filmography, Zambrano Vazquez points out his intervention in the works Nochebuena gitana (1953) by Jose H. Gan, singing for the dance, La copla andaluza (1959) by Mihura, Puente de coplas (1961) by Santos Alcocer, with Antonio Molina and Rafael Farina and Los duendes de Andalucia (1966) by Ana Mariscal, with La Paquera de Jerez. In Dawn at Dark Gate (1957), by Jose Maria Forque, his voice is heard in off. He also participated in the program El mundo del flamenco (1966) on TVE singing fandangos with the guitar of Paco de Lucia . A true myth of 20th century flamenco of which, in this his second approach to his figure, the writer Francisco Zambrano Vazquez has wanted to offer us the definitive biography.
