When I was visiting the website of the Centro Andaluz de Flamenco I noticed that under the section called ‘Directories‘, there was not only lists of flamenco peñas, festivals and flamenco links, but also flamenco blogs. One blog which I could have dedicated a full day – or even week – to visiting is called Papeles Flamencos. 

David Pérez regularly upload press cuttings from the past onto his Papeles Flamencos, some dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. Not only are they fascinating to read, but the blog itself is beautifully designed. Under each picture of the press clipping he gives the details of the newspaper and the date of publication, so if you are keen to search out the document, it is relatively easy to do. There are also illustrations, pieces of poetry and flyers from flamenco performances in Jerez de la Frontera. David Pérez spent his childhood in Jerez de la Frontera.

Apart from listing his clippings under subject titles, they are also listed under years of publication. The earliest is from 1855: a press clipping about the guitarist Julian Arcas published in El Avisador Malagueño on 20 February 1855.

David Pérez started his Papeles Flamencos blog in January 2009.  The subheading of the blog mentions that he aims to bring to light old documents on a flamenco theme, which he believes deserve to be seen. His blog recalls the friends of the Peña Flamenca Chaquetón of Madrid.

The Peña Flamenca Chaquetón which used to be in Calle Canarias, Madrid used to have daily flamenco performances, usually beginning at 11.30pm and running into the early hours of the morning. It was named after the famous flamenco singer El Chaquetón (José Antonio Díaz Fernández from Algeciras: 1945–2003).

 

© 2010 Thérèse Wassily Saba