Great Masters of Flamenco Vol.20

This great cantaor was born before the end of the last century at Dos Hermanas near Seville. His father was also a cantaor who lived at the very heart of the purest gitaneria at Alcala de Guadaira, some thirty miles south of Seville. Juan's uncle was none other than Joaquin el de la Paula, one of the most fabulous figures in the whole history of flamenco, but despite going to a good school, Juan himself remained an amateur and spent most of his life as a horse-dealer, who sang only at private gatherings. It was the magisterial Antonio Mairena who discovered him at the end of the 1950s, when Juan was already 66, and launched him professionally. Thus brought to light, Juan won the first prize in 1959 at the National Art of Flamenco Competition at Cordoba. After that, he appeared with the Master Mairena at many of his concerts. Constantly encouraged him, Juan finally made a few recordings in the late 60s when he over the age of 75. In 1970, a year before his death, a magnificent tribute was paid him one evening at the Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid, by a score of prestigious figures in the flamenco of the day (from Camaron to Pilar Lopez), and in the audience, were the likes of Vicente Aleixandre, Rafael Alberti, Fernado Rey and Igor Markevitch.