Terremoto de Jerez

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Bust of Terremoto de Jerez

Fernando Fernández Monje (* 1934 in Jerez de la Frontera , † 1981 ibid.), Called Terremoto de Jerez , was a Spanish flamenco singer.

Life

Terremoto belonged to a large Roma family that produced a number of excellent flamenco artists. He grew up on Calle Nueva in the heart of the Barrio de Santiago neighborhood in Jerez. His sister, * 1932, was María Soleá, a kind of female counterpart to him in her later life as a singer, with the female counterpart to his dark voice.

His older brother, he called himself Curro Terremoto , was an admired dancer, who, however, emigrated to America and has rarely been seen in his homeland since then. Following his big brother, Fernando also began to dance and soon called himself Terremoto Chico . "Fernando grew up to the rhythm of the Bulerías ," said the singer and dancer Romerito de Jerez. Together with him, he entered the bars of Jerez, both danced and sang, and then left the cap for a mite go around. During one of these tours, she discovered Antonio Pulpón, a well-known artistic agent for flamenco, and hired her to perform at the Tablao Guajiro in Seville . Since then, he has dedicated himself to singing for the rest of his life.

Terremoto never learned to read or write. His close friend Manuel Morao , whose guitar-playing accompanied him on most of his performances, described him as an extrovert, a big, good-natured child, a playful man without suspicion, who liked to laugh and did little else than singing.

Terremoto's son Fernando Terremoto (1969–2010), also known as Terremoto Hijo , took up the father's profession and was also a well-known flamenco singer.

singing

Terremoto was confident about his singing. In 1968 the Cátedra de Flamencología de Jerez awarded him the Copa de las Bulerías . He thought that the prize he was given - a precious silver wine goblet - was too small. So a large brass goblet was bought that he liked. His voice was dark, rough, but full of musicality. He was an outstanding singer of Sonido negro , the black tone, the "songs of fire and of tears without consolation".

"Si alguna vez el dolor ha sido bello, ero cuando Terremoto cantaba."

"If ever the pain was beautiful, it was when Terremoto sang."

- YES Ibáñez

Manuel Morao described him as an inspired singer, a genius of gitano singing. Every time he had a good day, he advanced the Gitano singing and enriched it with a new creation. Text knowledge was not his forte, but he used the texts he knew creatively. When he liked it, he sang the text of a Soleá por bulerías , the text of a Bulería por alegrías . However, it had distinct ups and downs. If he was inspired, he was “the light”, brilliant, extraordinary, says Manuel Morao. On the other hand, on bad days he sang worse than any other singer who has ever sung badly.

Agustín Gómez wrote that he had shaken his audience with his originality and emotions; dragged it into a ludicrous vortex. He had disordered all the schemes, all the designations, all the drawers, in order to surrender to the vortex, the frenzy of feeling. He couldn't be blamed for ever being insincere. He never had to learn to sing: he was the song.

His unconventional style, his ups and downs not only met with approval. The poet Ricardo Molina condemned his seguiriyas as unclean; he is an extremely poor successor to Manolo Caracol . With the support of his followers, he has polluted the old songs that have been restored in their pure form. Molina was wrong in his assessment that Terremoto had no great future ahead of him.

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El cante flamenco . Alianza Editorial, Madrid 2004, ISBN 978-84-206-4325-0 , p. 307 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El cante flamenco . S. 309 .
  3. ↑ stately
  4. ↑ the boy
  5. ^ Ana Isabel Hernández Gonzáles: Fernández Monje, Fernando, o "Terremoto de Jerez". 1934-1981. In: mcnbiografias.com. Retrieved November 21, 2015 (Spanish).
  6. ↑ a b c d Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El cante flamenco . S. 308 .
  7. ↑ Chair
  8. ↑ "cante de fuego y lagrimas sin consuelo"
  9. ↑ Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El cante flamenco . S. 306 .
  10. ↑ in the Bulería style
  11. ↑ "Nos daba la voltareta, nos envolvía en su torbellino (...): la locura."
  12. ↑ Agustin Gómez: El arte de Terremoto de Jerez . Quoted from: Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El cante flamenco . P. 406.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Terremoto de Jerez
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fernández Monje, Fernando (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish flamenco singer
DATE OF BIRTH 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Jerez de la Frontera
DATE OF DEATH 1981
Place of death Jerez de la Frontera