Pepe Habichuela dies, legend of flamenco guitar
Central figure of an important flamenco lineage, the guitarist from Granada was 82 years old
BarcelonaThe guitarist Pepe Habichuela, a giant of flamenco music from one of the great lineages of cante, has died in Madrid at the age of 82, as reported by El País and confirmed by the delegate for Arts of the Madrid City Council, Marta Rivera de la Cruz. "Pepe Habichuela's guitar is fading, but his music will continue to play wherever flamenco continues to tell who we are," the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted on X.
Son and grandson of great flamenco musicians and father and uncle of the Ketama, José Antonio Carmona Carmona was one of the great guitarists of contemporary flamenco, a legend and ambassador of this music, winner of the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts and the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise.
Pepe Habichuela's career could summarize the evolution of flamenco art over the last six decades, from the caves of Sacromonte in Granada to the great auditoriums, the fusion with other music and the constant search for beauty through the six strings. A fundamental collaborator of Enrique Morente on seminal flamenco albums of the 70s, he also collaborated with jazz figures such as Don Cherry or Dave Holland. His restless spirit does not prevent him from being considered an institution of flamenco guitar as accompaniment to cante.
Pepe Habichuela grew up surrounded by musicians and musicians, from his father José Carmona (Habichuela el Viejo, they called him) and his brothers Juan, Luis and Carlos Habichuela, with whom he settled in Madrid in the 60s and performed at the tablao of Torres Bermejas with the best singers of the time: Juanito Valderrama, Fosforito, Pansequito... But with whom he formed the most fruitful artistic alliance was with Enrique Morente: together they recorded emblematic works of modern flamenco such as Homenaje aDon Antonio Chacón (National Record Award) and Despegando.
His late solo career is linked to the emergence of the mythical record label Nuevos Medios, by Mario Pacheco. There he released his first album, A Mandeli (1983) and established himself as a bridge between generations that opened the door to the Ketama of his son José Miguel and his nephews Juan and Antonio. The artistic influence was reciprocal, as from his second album, Canela en rama (1997), his son would become his trusted producer. In Can Habichuela, music is a family affair.
With an open mind and an adventurous spirit, he brought flamenco into contact with other music and cultures. He played with the free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, who said his guitar "sounds like a weeping tree," and collaborated with the band of drummer Max Roach and British double bassist Dave Holland. And in 2001, he recorded an album, Yerbagüena, the result of his meeting with the Indian group Bollywood Strings.
"I am a happy little gypsy from Granada. Everyone has treated me well and taken care of me. I have enjoyed myself immensely, and I continue to enjoy myself," he declared in 2023 to the magazine De Flamenco. His health condition forced him to retire from the stage, although before that he received tributes at the Noches del Botánico festival in Madrid and the Flamenco On Fire festival in Pamplona, among others.
