srshea -> RE: Niño Ricardo interview comment (Feb. 29 2012 20:08:38)
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quote:
...The names aren't too surprising, because Terremoto and Paquera were greatly influenced by Caracol, so it all comes down to Caracol vs. Mairena, which used to be one of those divisions among aficionados.... Ha, I was just about to add my own thoughts to Ricardo’s statement about preferences, but this puts an interesting spin on things. For me singers end up falling into two basic categories: those I listen to for and with pleasure, and those I listen to out of a certain sense of duty, because I know they’re important developmentally and that there’s a lot to be learned from listening to them. It’s not always a sharp black and white division, but there are singers like Pastora, Fernanda, Rancapino, Selles, Agujetas (with Caracol, Paquera, and Terremoto very high on the list) who I get a great deal of enjoyment listening to and whose singing truly moves me, and there are guys like Chacon, Mairena, Menese, Fosforito, who I listen to more out of obligation and who I’m rarely moved by. I’ve always ascribed this to purely subjective taste and personal preference regarding each singer’s approach to their art (which I suppose it ultimately is), but it hadn’t really occurred to me that there might also be certain lineal connections between “schools” of approach and their followers behind some of the lines I've drawn. I always try to appreciate each artist for what they have to offer and not let my own preferences lead me to unfairly and subjectively label them in a certain way. It seems like this happens with PDL all the time, when people label him as “cold” or “emotionless”. Personally, his playing doesn’t move me in the way that, say, Melchor’s or Cepero’s does, but I would never call his playing “cold”, which would be dumb. There’s obviously a great deal of emotion in his playing, and that’s abundantly apparent to me, regardless of the degree to which I connect with that emotion personally. Uh, guess I’m starting to ramble. I don’t want to sound too goody-goody about it (because I’m not at all immune to this kind of thing), but it’s very easy for people to get too precious about their opinions and responses and end up projecting that stuff onto an artist, ascribing certain qualities or lack of qualities to what they do. Not very fair, but I guess we all do it. I just try as much as I can, when it comes to “emotion” and “feeling” in art, to always keep a clear distinction between my own reactions and an artist’s own experience and intentions, particularly in cases when something doesn’t really move me. Blah, blah. I’m familiar with the term “Mairenista” as a general sort of label of division between Caracolistas and, later, Camaronistas, but which singers actually fall under that label? Obviously his brothers, and Menese, too. Who else?
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