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New authorized biography of Camarón
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NormanKliman
Posts: 1143
Joined: Sep. 1 2007
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 New authorized biography of Camarón
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Saw this in the newspaper; quick translation and some observations at the end of the post:
La Chispa cuenta la vida de Camarón
La viuda del 'cantaor' presenta la biografía oficial del fallecido mito del flamenco
EFE - Madrid - 26/11/2008
16 años después de la muerte de Camarón de la Isla, su viuda, Dolores Montoya, ha abierto el desván en el que guardó todos sus recuerdos y ha repasado la vida del genial cantaor para dar forma a La Chispa de Camarón, una biografía que recoge también las fotografías del álbum familiar. Alfonso Rodríguez, reportero que ha crecido en San Fernando en el mismo barrio gaditano de la familia de Camarón de la Isla, es el autor de este libro, la primera biografía autorizada del cantaor, y quien ha convencido a Dolores Montoya, La Chispa, para que cuente de su propia voz el lado más cercano del cantaor.
"Me costó dos años convencerla. Creo que le convenció la confianza, me veía cercano", cuenta Alfonso Rodríguez, en una entrevista. Para La Chispa, cuenta el periodista, el proceso ha supuesto "llorar mucho" porque, por primera vez, entraba en el desván en el que al morir Camarón, el 2 de julio de 1992, guardó empaquetados todos sus recuerdos, sus fotos, sus guitarras -las tenía hasta del 1800-, ropas y hasta notas, para comenzar a desentrañar sus recuerdos.
Camarón "jamás se sintió una persona especial", cuenta en el libro la viuda, que confiesa que "el dolor sigue latente" y que, para ella, cada día es "un día menos sin José y uno más con Camarón". A través de los recuerdos de su viuda, Alfonso Rodríguez cuenta la historia de Camarón, en un relato que se inicia con sus abuelos y que acaba con su muerte, a causa de un cáncer de pulmón, en un hospital de Badalona y con la nota manuscrita que fue encontrada en su habitación en la que el artista se despide de "jóvenes y mayores" con un consejo.
"Dense cuenta que estamo viviendo una vida mundiana que no merese la pena vivir. Porque es mui bonita la vida y tu ties que fortalecerte y tener clonpleta fes en Dios y en ustedes mismo. Con simpatía y cariño. De este que lla es libre. Camarón" [sic].
La Chispa es el "hilo conductor" de una biografía en la que también dan sus testimonios y recuerdos personas cercanas al cantaor: Raimundo Amador, Lolita Flores, Pansequito y, entre ellos, Marcelo Camus, un psiquiatra afincado en Sevilla pionero en España en tratar adicciones y al que La Chispa acudió cuando le alertaron del problema con las drogas de su marido.
"Qué pena, que un alma tan pura, tan libre, se viera preso por esa maldita basura... La mayoría de la gente que convivía con Camarón hacía lo mismo. Casi todos mojaron en la salsa", cuenta la viuda, que a principios de los ochenta llevó al cantaor a la consulta de Camus. "Llegaron a la sala de espera y, al rato, Camarón se marchó. Dolores entró en mi despacho y me explicó que su marido se había ido porque desde pequeñito le tenía mucho miedo a las agujas y creía que íbamos a curarlo a base de pinchazos", recuerda el psiquiatra, al que La Chispa pidió que se fuera a vivir a su casa para tratar a su marido.
"Me recibió un hombre que me partió los esquemas. Yo creía que sería un endiosado, pero estaba equivocado, era todo lo contrario", explica para afirmar después que la única adicción real del cantaor fue el tabaco.
La Chispa revela anécdotas como la que ocurrió en el verano de 1990 cuando su representante le llamó para decirle que Mick Jagger actuaba en Madrid y que, a cambio de cinco millones de pesetas, quería que Camarón cantara en una fiesta privada que iba a organizar. "Contestó que no, que esos gachés no sabían de flamenco" y semanas después cantaba gratis en un festival para recaudar fondos para ayudar a un guitarrista. Este es uno de los muchos detalles de ahora, con este libro que edita Espasa, engrosan la leyenda de Camarón.
La Chispa tells the story of Camarón’s life
The singer’s widow presents the official biography of the late great flamenco artist
EFE - Madrid - 26/11/2008
Sixteen years after the death of Camarón de la Isla, his widow Dolores Montoya has opened up the room where she locked away all her memories, to go over the life of the brilliant singer in "La Chispa de Camarón," a biography that includes snapshots from the family’s photo album. Alfonso Rodríguez, a journalist who grew up in San Fernando in the same neighborhood as the family of Camarón de la Isla, is the author of the first authorized biography of the singer and the one who convinced Dolores Montoya, La Chispa, to tell us in her own words what the singer was really like.
“It took me two years to convince her. I think what convinced her was that she felt that she could confide in me; she saw me as being someone close to the family,” explains Alfonso Rodríguez in an interview. The journalist explains that making the book caused La Chispa to cry a lot, because she had to go back to the room where, when Camarón died on 2 July 1992, she had locked away all of his memories, his photos, his guitars—he had some from the 1800s—, clothing and even notes that he had written, in order to go over her memories of her husband.
Camarón “never felt like a special person,” she explains in the book, and reveals that “the pain is still there,” and that, for her, each passing day is “one day less with José and another day more with Camarón.” Through the memories of the singer’s widow, Alfonso Rodríguez tells the story of Camarón’s life, from the artist’s grandparents to his death from lung cancer in a hospital in Badalona, including a handwritten note that was found in his hospital room in which he offers his parting advice to “young and old”:
"You’ve got to realize that we’re living a mundane lifestyle that isn’t worth living. Because life is very beautiful and you’ve got to be strong and have complete faith in God and in yourselves. With best regards and affection from one who is already free. Camarón.”
La Chispa is the common thread to a biography in which other people who were close to the singer offer testimony and memories of the man: Raimundo Amador, Lolita Flores, Pansequito and, among others, Marcelo Camus, a psychiatrist living in Seville. He was one of the first in Spain to offer treatment for drug addiction, and La Chispa sought his help when she found out about her husband’s drug problems.
“It’s such a shame that a soul so pure and so free became enslaved by that garbage... Most of the people in Camarón’s immediate circle were doing it, too. Nearly all of them tried it at one point or another", explains the widow who, in the early 1980s took the singer to see Camus. He remembers, “They were in the waiting room, but Camarón left after a little while. Dolores said that her husband had left because he’d been afraid of needles since he was a little boy, and he thought that the treatment would involve injections.” La Chispa ended up asking Camus to live in their house in order to treat her husband.
He recalls, “I met a man who was totally different from what I’d expected. I’d imagined that he would be conceited, but I was wrong; he was just the opposite." He goes on to state that Camarón’s only real addiction was tobacco.
La Chispa reveals several episodes, such as the one that took place in the summer of 1990, when his representative called to say that Mick Jagger was going to perform in Madrid and that he wanted to pay Camarón five million pesetas to sing at a private party. “He turned down the offer, saying that that those gachés didn’t understand flamenco,” and weeks later he sang for free at a festival that was held to raise money to help a guitarist. This is one of the many stories, in the book published by Espasa, that contributes to the legend of Camarón.
The article rather cruelly reproduces verbatim the spelling and grammar mistakes found in the handwritten note of a dying man who never received a formal education. It's interesting, nonetheless, to see his exact words. I've interpreted "mundiana" to mean "mundano" or "mundane" in English, in the sense of frivoulous social activity.
Also, his use of the word "gaché" shouldn't be interpreted as literally meaning "non-gypsy," as just about everyone in the province of Cádiz says it to refer to any kind of stranger.
I really like the part about "never felt like a special person." Everyone coincides that he was humble and even shy. His refusal to sing at Mick Jagger's private party is...priceless.
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Date Nov. 27 2008 0:37:30
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