Richard Jernigan -> RE: Do you have glue on your fingernails right now ? (Feb. 11 2021 6:23:46)
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ORIGINAL: joevidetto I never really liked the glue or fake nails - and pretty much no serious flamenco player goes with it, it seems. I'm not up on what contemporary pros do (except for Ricardo, who has posted about it before now) but I remember reading an interview with Niño Ricardo. He was asked about his nails. He replied that he had "uñas de papel [paper nails]." Asked what he did about them, he held up his hand to the interviewer and replied "pegamento [glue]." In those days before cyanoacrylate, "glue" meant acetate glue--"model airplane" cement. It went on thicker and was not as hard as crazy glue. Judging from clear photos, Mario Escudero used it too. Niño Ricardo's last solo recordings showed the effects of a lack of practice and, some say, a little too much alcohol. But in his prime his technique was simply brilliant. One day in the 1980s I visited La Guitarreria in the Rue de Edimbourg in Paris. It is near the Conservatoire and the Gare du Nord. Walking from the nearest Metro stop you passed both Bouchet's shop and the offices of the music publisher Schott. La Guitarreria was owned by a formidable Spanish woman, Isabel Gomez. There were a lot of guitars, some very nice. I picked up a blanca and played a soleá falseta. A man who worked in the shop disappeared into a back room and came back with a lovely blanca by Paulino Bernabe Sr. It was beautiful in both sound and looks. The man told me it was his own guitar, and it was for sale. He said he was the younger brother of the owner. She had rescued him from a life of flamenco and alcoholism. He said he had worked with Niño Ricardo's son, who died from throat cancer brought on by drink. He chatted a bit about father and son, and mentioned Niño Ricardo's nails. I played the Bernabe a bit more, and really liked it. I tried to hand it to its owner, for him to play so I could hear it from the audience perspective. He shrank back as though in fear. He said he did not dare to play a single note. "It would be like taking the first sip of manzanilla." The Bernabe was expensive, I already had the '67 Ramirez, and I was responsible for a wife and two children, so I passed up the opportunity. I've been fortunate in my nails. The last time there was any glue on one was three or four years ago after I shattered a thumbnail. It was repaired with silk and cyanoacrylate: stronger than "pegamento," sounds better and lasts longer. By the time the patch fell off it had been filed back a time or two and the nail had grown out enough to be serviceable. RNJ
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