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SABICAS CENTENNIAL
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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 RE: SABICAS CENTENNIAL (in reply to Ricardo)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Ricardo
Ok so then he WAS a recognized flamenco guitar star as of 1961? They just seem to imply he was not recognized in Spain until later....its vague to me. And also not clear why he could not come to spain and play before say PDL played Teatro Real 1975, etc....and all the recordings he made with andaluz cantaores....those were done where? In NYC??
Marote quoted Sabicas saying he was afraid to go back to Spain. Sabicas is also quoted as saying he was not political. Maybe he wasn't, but flamencos and Gypsies in general were usually left of the center of the political spectrum, and there was plenty to fear from the Franco regime.
Somehow it became safe enough for him to return to Spain in 1967, to great acclaim.
At least from the 1950s onward there was a steady circulation of flamencos through the Americas. Manolo Caracol, one of the most famous cantaores of all time, as well as a movie star, had a club in Mexico City that regularly brought artists from Spain. So did the club Zambra in New York City. Sabicas frequented both places. I was at a few after hours juergas at Zambra where Sabicas showed up and played until dawn. My impression was he did it just for the hell of it, not for money. He was making money off records at the time.
Sabicas' discography is quite extensive. Some have studied it systematically. I just bought his records as I came across them. Many were recorded in New York, some with artists who were passing through. I think Domingo Alvarado, who appeared on several Sabicas discs lived in New York, at least for a while. Offhand I don't know of any recordings from Mexico.
RNJ
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Date Apr. 13 2012 17:28:23
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: SABICAS CENTENNIAL (in reply to Ricardo)
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quote:
Ok so then he WAS a recognized flamenco guitar star as of 1961? They just seem to imply he was not recognized in Spain until later....its vague to me. And also not clear why he could not come to spain and play before say PDL played Teatro Real 1975, etc....and all the recordings he made with andaluz cantaores....those were done where? In NYC??
Ricardo, if you scroll down from my article, past the photos, you'll see a number of original documents that hold the answers to your questions. Brook Zern for one, describes arriving in Spain almost ashamed of "only" knowing Sabicas material and wanting to discover "real" flamenco, but he soon learns there are old-timers who worship Sabicas and thought he was dead. It was a case of "out of sight, out of mind".
There is also an interview with Sabicas himself in which he describes how wildly popular he was before fleeing: "even the stones knew my name". The many recordings with singers were of course made before he left Spain.
You'll also see a conversation reported by Juan Maya "Marote" in which Sabicas explains he is fearful of returning to Spain, even though the was was long over.
There's really a lot of material there, you have to click on the documents to read them. For the couple of things in Spanish, click for the English translation.
_____________________________
Estela Zatania
www.deflamenco.com
www.expoflamenco.com
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Date Apr. 13 2012 21:59:45
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: SABICAS CENTENNIAL (in reply to keith)
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quote:
years ago i read paco sevilla's book about paco de lucia and i recall (with a good amount of vagueness) the meeting between paco and sabicas was through jose greco's company which brought paco to n.y.c.--if i am not mistaken, paco was playing with greco's group.
More or less... Paco was in New York playing in Greco's company. Guitarists Pedro Cortés Sr., Emilio Prados and Sabicas' brother Diego Castellón, along with singer Paco Ortiz took Paco, by then a young adult, to meet Sabicas at Paco's request.
This was not Paco's first U.S. tour with Greco...in the first tour he was described by Julio de los Reyes as wearing short pants, sprawled on his hotel bed reading comic books, like any young boy. Another guitarist with Greco, Manolo Barón, had taken Julio along with Mario Escudero, Juan Serrano and singer Pepe Segundo up to the room and asked the boy to "play a little something for these friends of mine". Paquito obediently picked up the guitar and played some bulerias, causing all jaws to drop.
_____________________________
Estela Zatania
www.deflamenco.com
www.expoflamenco.com
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Date Apr. 13 2012 22:36:45
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Dedos
Posts: 31
Joined: Mar. 5 2011
From: Madrid, Spain
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RE: SABICAS CENTENNIAL (in reply to zata)
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The information given in this thread is fascinating and instructive. Many have stories that humanize Sabicas. The only ones I can remember were in the Teatro Monumental in Madrid in 1974 {look at the last 3 lines of the script under the autographed picture for the date of the concert}. Sabicas had signed on to do something like a month run there and I went to see him the second night, I think...or maybe the third {whatever} and the last night. It was all you could expect, of course, so I need not go there. What was interesting was the last night he was to play. The Monumental held, I think, about 1200 people {yes, yes, I could be wrong...but not by much} and there were only about 12 people there...can you imagine? I got a seat about 10th row center and was happy as a clam.
Interestingly, down on the front row were some old geezers {like I am now} and one of them was my first guitar teacher, Rafael Nogales. Every time Sabicas ended a number, he would stand up and yell “Bravo, Maestro!”. The old fan club, no doubt.
The other thing that stands out in my memory was when I went backstage to do the fan thing and get his autograph. His brother Diego graciously led me to the door and opened it so I could go in. Sabicas was seated right in front of the door and beholding the guy was like a religious experience to me. Chills, heart pounding, etc…we’ve all been there when we see an idol up close. So I’m looking at Sabicas and he beckons me in {how many thousands of times had he seen a star-struck fan and recognized the “symptoms”}…anyway, as I entered I could see more of the room and I noticed another person seated to his left. Who else? Paco…
Whoa, sez I, I’ve hit the jackpot! BUT…I noticed a distinct scowl on Paco’s face and a look that shot daggers….{I distinctly remember that look…no mistake – I remember it after all these years} I had inadvertently intruded on a meeting of the greats and, by Paco’s expression, was really not welcome. Sabicas, however was the soul of graciousness and very slowly and painstakingly signed the program you see in the picture. I have heard stories {and that’s all they are} of him not being able to write {like Django, who was taught to sign his own name by Stephan Grappelli}. It would be interesting to know.
Being the normal American guitar fan, I took my Nikon and my Sony cassette recorder and got some lovely substandard photos and bad quality recordings, one of each I offer {check the sound file "Sabicas Taranta 1974 concert tape" in the "Audio & Video Uploads" section} for archival reference if nothing else.
On a separate subject, I would like to hear Sabicas talk! if you watch this clip by YouTuber “Sabicas17” you will see him being interviewed {at 1:57} on RTVE in Spain in black and white, but “Sabicas17” decided to record over the interview with a guitar number. Does anyone have the original?
http://www.deflamenco.com/revista/pagina.jsp?codigo=3426
More to the point…does anyone have any tapes they might have made back then of Sabicas talking, practicing, or whatever? I’d like to hear some outtakes of this great man before the lid closes, folks.
Dedos
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Date Apr. 14 2012 0:56:58
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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RE: SABICAS CENTENNIAL (in reply to zata)
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I just received two Sabicas CDs I had on order: "The Fantastic Guitars of Sabicas and Escudero," and "Sabicas, Flamenco on Fire." Great stuff! I treasure my Sabicas CDs, along with my compilation of Ramon Montoya's early playing entitled, "Ramon Montoya, El Genio de la Guitarra Flamenca: Grabaciones Historicas, 1923-1936."
I would love to locate a CD featuring Nino Ricardo alone. I have one CD entitled, "Masters of the Flamenco Guitar," featuring Nino Ricardo, Sabicas, Manolo de Huelva, and Marchena de Melchor, but I have never seen one featuring Nino Ricardo alone.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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Date Apr. 14 2012 16:45:38
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