Alonso Núñez “Rancapino Chico” y Manuel Jero (Seguiriya)

Alonso Núñez “Rancapino Chico” is the son of the great flamenco Singer Alonso Núñez “Rancapino” from Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz province. Thus, he possesses a deeply rooted flamenco family heritage. His father was Camarón de la Isla’s best childhood friend, with whom he shared many of their first experiences as cantaores or flamenco singers in their teens. Their performances at Venta Vargas, in San Fernando, were especially legendary.

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These are the credentials of this young cantaor. As you can see he is as proficient and knowledgeable as can be. This video is part of the musical documentary series titles “Al Ritmo de la Calle” (To the Beat of the Street) and it was shot at the Bar Bartolo in San Fernando. His performance is a testimony that traditional flamenco is alive and well. I think nowadays flamenco is as good as it has ever been. Ladies, gentlemen, y buena gente— flamenco is not disappearing!!  

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The seguiriya is one of the most difficult and deeper flamenco styles to perform.  It’s part of the set of flamenco styles called “cante jondo” or deep song, as well as the soleares and the “cantes a palo seco” or a Capella (without guitar accompaniment) to which it is related: tonás, martinetes, and carceleras. Its lyrics tell stories of death, illness, the loss of the mother or the beloved one. They are full of pathos, drama and touch to the core of the human essence.

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The stanza of the seguiriya can have three or four lines of six syllables in which the second or third line has eleven syllables, although they can vary in number depending on the pronunciation of the Andalusian Spanish dialect.

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The meter of the seguiriya is a 12 count rhythm formed by a 3/4 and a 6/8 beat measure. The pattern goes as follows:

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8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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In this video “Rancapino Chico” interprets a series of three seguiriya styles from Jerez and Los Puertos, all of them forms originated in the province of Cádiz. The city of Jerez de la Frontera  is one of the cradles of flamenco. Manuel Torre was one of its most legendary artists from the classic period of flamenco singing in the early 20th Century. Joaquín Lacherna was born in Jerez as well 1843), and was Manuel Torre’s uncle. Curro Durse’s seguiriya is part of the family of seguiriyas from Los Puertos: these are the port cities of San Fernando, Puerto Real, Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. They are really ancient seguiriya styles. Curro Durse was born in Cádiz, circa 1825, and was the great grandfather of another of the flamenco singing greats, Manolo Caracol.  

Seguiriya de Manuel Torre:

*duquelas: means “pains” in the Romani language Caló

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Seguiriya de Joaquín Lacherna:

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Seguiriya de Curro Durse: