Arcángel (2)

Spanish Flamenco Singer (Huelva, 1977) Arcángel, the son of Alosno-born parents, made his début as a child. At the age of ten he won first prize at La Peña La Orden in the fandangos de Huelva children’s contest, which he revalidated in two later editions. The following year, he joined the Niño de Pura and José Joaquín Company. From then on, he had a string of jobs as an accompanying cantaor for artists like Jesús Cayuela and José Roca, for ‘La Parrala’ (1996); Mario Maya, for ‘Los flamencos cantan y bailan a Lorca’ (1997); and Manuel Soler, for ‘Por aquí te quiero ver’ (1998). Though he began to stand out solo at forums such as Seville’s ‘Flamenco Thursdays’ Series, when he really dazzled audiences and critics alike was in his numerous performances at Seville’s 10th Bienal, joining shows such as ‘De Cádiz a Cuba’ by Mario Maya; ‘Abanaó’ by Juan Carlos Romero; ‘Seis movimientos de baile flamenco’ by Pepa Montes and Ricardo Miño; ‘Sansueña’ by José Joaquín and ‘Compadres’ by Manolo Franco and Niño de Pura. Arcángel became an ineludible cantaor of cante for dancing, putting his voice at the disposal of figures like Eva Yerbabuena and Javier Barón, and in productions such as ‘Inventario de Henry Bengoa’ and ‘Galvánicas’ by Israel Galván (2002). He also tackled collaborations with musicians from other genres like ‘Cus-Cus Flamenco’ (2001), together with Segundo Falcón and Tetouan’s Orquesta Chekkara. Although he had taken part on several collective albums, Arcángel confirmed his worth at the recording studio upon releasing his first solo album: ‘Arcángel’ (2001). As a result of this release, he won the 2002 Andalusia Youth Prize, the National Active Flamenco Prize of úbeda, the Giraldillo prize for best cante performer at the 2002 Bienal and the ‘Venencia Flamenca’ at the Mistela Flamenco Festival. He goes on experimenting with other genres, as is demonstrated by his collaboration with contemporary composer Mauricio Sotelo on ‘Cantes Antiguos’ and ‘Sonetos del amor oscuro’. And he continues to win awards, such as the Peña El Taranto Trophy and being named ‘Onubense del Año’ (Huelva Inhabitant of the Year). Then in 2004, with production by guitarist Juan Carlos Romero, he releases his second album, ‘La calle perdía’. A record he upholds in a duo and quartet on stages all over the world. In late 2006, the Huelva-born cantaor releases the album ‘Ropavieja’, this time produced by Isidro Muñoz and with guitarists Miguel ángel Cortés and Daniel Méndez. In 2011 Arcángel releases ‘Quijote de los sueños’, his fourth flamenco cante album, a disc on which he unites the concepts of ‘purity’ and ‘renovation’.