Artists of all generations get excited when talking about Juanito Valderrama, an artist with a prodigious voice who was the soundtrack of an entire country for decades. He died at the age of 88 and spent practically all of his time singing. The family lived in Torredelcampo, Jaén, and his sister says that when he was little he sang on the threshing floor and even the mules stopped to listen. His father was not amused, because he did not view flamingos favorably. But despite everything, Juanito achieved his dream: to be a great figure in singing.
Only the girl from Puebla was able to convince her father and when Juanito turned 18 he went on tour with her. and he earned his first salary, five dollars. In 1935 she debuted at the Metropolitano and recorded his first album. Another dream fulfilled, although for a short time: the Civil War cut short his plans. “Since there was nothing to eat, he sang for the soldiers and then passed the cap. It was humiliating, but he did it with his head held high,” his family remembers.
Valderrama, the voice that drove Spain crazy
With the end of the conflict, Valderrama resumed his career, with so much strength and desire that nothing could stop him. Neither Marchena’s jealousy nor Concha Piquer’s misgivings could overshadow his figure as the ace of flamenco, although in those years that genre was not as highly regarded as copla. That’s why he spoke with Quiroga and asked him for some songs. Quite a success: ‘Mother Beautiful’ and ‘Like a Brother’ gave him great fame, and then came ‘Pena Mora’ and ‘The Emigrant’, perhaps the song that took him to the altars and turned him into a star with unprecedented brilliance. Everyone wanted to hear it, even Franco!
Juan Valderrama first married María Vega and they had three children, but their marriage was annulled after the arrival of Dolores April to your life. They married in 1981 and had two children. Twenty years have passed since the singer’s death and everyone continues to remember him with the same devotion and affection.
Juanito Valderrama became very popular with ‘El emigrante’
Juanito Valderrama died in 2004
The Imprescindibles program covers the singer’s life, from his humble origins in a family dedicated to the countryside to his consecration as a singer. The RTVE archive takes us to a black and white Spain united by the sounds that came from the radio and the testimonies of singers like (Pasión Vega, Miguel Poveda, Martirio, Joan Manuel Serrat, Antonio Carmona, Carmen Linares, Ana Belén and Víctor Manuel), musicians (Pepe de Lucia), actors (Jose Sacristan), flamenco experts and singing teachers serve to paint a faithful portrait of the greatness of Juanito Valderrama. His family is not missing, and could not be missing: the voices, memories and emotions of Dolores Abril (his second wife), her brothers and his children also help us to get to know the man behind the genius, of myth. “If you want to learn, go to him, to the book that is Juan Valderrama,” says Martirio.
Juanito Valderrama and Dolores Abril destroyed the fights over fandangos
Juanito Valderrama, a giant of 1.60 cm.
The mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza highlights the naturalness of her voice, “natural, pure, in mask“. Professor Pedro Barrientos highlights his light tenor timbre and his brilliant voice that had the quality of “reaching quite far in space without using the microphone.” The singer Fosforito says that Juan Valderrama had the Vienna Symphony in his throat “and the musicologist Faustino Núñez said that he was a 1.60 cm giant who drove all of Spain crazy.”
Adjectives fall short to express the greatness of this artist, unfairly despised by colleagues like Mairena, which did not forgive the success of this payo, who dominated flamenco as well as the copla. His son Juan, who has followed in his footsteps in music, criticizes that he is not recognized as a genius of cante jondo. Today, some repent and ask for forgiveness: There are 764 original recordings by Valderrama and of them, 393 are flamenco.
The singer Juanito Valderrama had a talent for flamenco and copla
Spain pays tribute to Valderrama
His talent as a singer was overshadowed by his coplas and especially by the fights over fandangos that he had with his wife, something similar to what he would do years later. Pimpernel. People loved it and the records sold like hotcakes.
Perhaps this massive, popular success worked against him and the flamenco purists looked down on him. But Juanito Valderrama always had the respect of the profession, as could be seen in the tribute that was paid to him in 1994 in Madrid.
All the greats of Spanish music passed through the stage installed in Las Ventas, from The Girl from Puebla, Lola Flores and Rocío Jurado to Carlos Cano, Joan Manuel Serrat. The list of artists is impressive and they all achieved what they set out to do: make history. Their audience filled the arena, many of them making an effort to pay the 4,000 pesetas that the entrance cost. “You have to be here, even if tomorrow you eat soups without bread,” said one of the attendees.
