Alonso N\u00fa\u00f1ez N\u00fa\u00f1ez is one of the most important flamenco artists of the last third of the 20th century and the early 21st century. He was born in 1945 in Chiclana de la Frontera, where he soon came to be known by his stage name, ‘Rancapino’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of gypsy heritage, he was born into a family with a long tradition of producing flamenco performers. His grandmother was Antonia Garc\u00eda Moreno, a cantaora<\/em> (flamenco singer) from El Puerto de Santa Mar\u00eda, better known as ‘T\u00eda Antonia La Obispa\u2019. His father’s brother was the cantaor<\/em> Orillo del Puerto, and his father, Manuel N\u00fa\u00f1ez N\u00fa\u00f1ez, was known as ‘Orillito’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rancapino began as a cantaor<\/em> during his childhood, performing at gatherings, in local ventas<\/em> (bars and restaurants), in Miguel P\u00e9rez’s barbershop and even, according to legend, on trams. During that time, he forged his close friendship with Jos\u00e9 Monge ‘Camar\u00f3n de la Isla’, with whom he shared some of those adventures and unscheduled performances at the Venta de Vargas or at Seville’s Feria (annual spring fair). Sometimes, for fun, the two of them imitated the great figures of their time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rancapino and Camar\u00f3n were actually first cousins on their mother\u2019s side through Juana, Camar\u00f3n\u2019s mother, the sister of Rancapino’s mother. Rancapino was four years older than Camar\u00f3n, who used to call him ‘El Viejo\u2019 (Old Man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his youth he frequented tablaos<\/em> in Madrid and Andalusia and took part in several tours in European and African countries, as well as in the United States and Japan, participating in occasional recordings by flamenco artists from the latter country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rancapino’s style is based on family tradition and the preferences of the time, with influences ranging from Manolo Caracol to Aurelio Sell\u00e9s, although his personal artistic pantheon also includes ‘La Perla de C\u00e1diz’ and \u2018Manolito el de Mar\u00eda\u2019… and, of course, Camar\u00f3n himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the opinion of journalist and flamenco music critic Alfredo Grimaldos, Rancapino’s singing “wisely avoids strident shouting and is capable of gently carrying the aficionado between the tragic complaint of the seguiriya and the sprightly sweetness of the alegr\u00edas de C\u00e1diz<\/em>, so influenced by the salty air of his native saltmarsh landscape”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alonso N\u00fa\u00f1ez has given us some critically acclaimed recordings together with some legendary moments in the history of flamenco singing, such as when he won the 1977 Enrique El Mellizo Award<\/em> at the National Flamenco Arts Award in C\u00f3rdoba. He has also won many other awards, such as the prestigious Lucas L\u00f3pez Award<\/em> fromPe\u00f1a El Taranto in Almer\u00eda. These awards made him an obligatory presence at flamenco festivals, becoming an icon in Madrid, winning support at a critical moment in his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Critics say Rancapino’s singing stands out due to his exquisite sense of rhythm in seguiriyas, soleares and malague\u00f1as, among other styles. His recording debut took place in 1972, with an album released by BMG in which he was accompanied by the guitar of Jerez’s Paco Cepero. His performances of alegr\u00edas, tangos, tientos, soleares, fandangos, malague\u00f1as del Mellizo, mineras, seguiriyas, soleares and buler\u00edas were impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a long absence from the labels, he recorded another album with Turner Records in 1995. This work was an implicit tribute to Aurelio El Tuerto, whose malague\u00f1as and alegr\u00edas he sang, and to Manolo Caracol, covering his fandangos caracoleros and zambra, which went on to become classics in his stage repertoire. In this work, whose cover art was designed by Miquel Barcel\u00f3, he was accompanied once again by Paco Cepero’s guitar, and he performed tangos, fandangos, seguiriyas, buler\u00edas, soleares and martinetes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His discography is extremely limited but it also includes the CD included with the book Ronco de andar descalzo<\/em>, his biography, written by Pedro Antonio Qui\u00f1ones Grimaldi in 2011. The title alludes to one of Alonso’s recurring phrases: “My singing voice is hoarse from so much walking barefoot as a child.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1995, he accompanied Chavela Vargas and Joaqu\u00edn Sabina, among other artists, on a tour of Mexico. On 17 November 2006, a tribute was paid to him at the Lope de Vega Theater in Seville, organized by Miguel Poveda and attended by numerous artists, such as Arc\u00e1ngel, and Rancapino\u2019s son Alonso. In 2021, the Chiclana City Council paid a similar tribute to him for his 75th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent years, his son Alonso has come to be recognized as an exceptional cantaor <\/em>performing as ‘Rancapino Chico’. His daughter Ana and his granddaughter Esmeralda Rancapino have also demonstrated their flair for flamenco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":45,"template":"","class_list":["post-66","artista","type-artista","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n