Born on December 25, 1942 in Granada, in the Albaicín neighborhood , and died on December 13, 2010 in Madrid during an operation.
Enrique Morente is considered one of the best flamenco singers that Spain has ever had and the revolutionist of flamenco by mixing it with jazz and rock bases. In addition, he adapted several poems by Federico Garcia Lorca and Rafael Alberti, among others, to flamenco.
The beginning
At the early age of 15, he went to Madrid, where with a group of young people they frequented various flamenco venues to be in contact with the world of flamenco in said city, and there he began to learn from, among others, Pepe de la Matrona, and Morente began to be known as “Enrique el Granada.”
His first performance dates back to 1964 at the Charlot flamenco club.
Enrique Morente's first successes
After being in Madrid performing in several tablaos and standing out, his first big performance was in the Spanish Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair and at the Spanish embassy in Washington in 1964.
In 1966 he made several tours through Europe and Japan , and the following year he recorded his first album “Cante Flamenco” , which reflected the great knowledge that the artist had, both for his performance and for the selection of the songs he included, uncommon for the time.
Their first 5 albums were the following, produced by Hispavox:
- Cante flamenco (Hispavox, 1967)
- Cantes antiguos del flamenco (Hispavox, 1968)
- Homenaje flamenco a Miguel Hernández (Hispavox, 1971)
- Se hace camino al andar (Hispavox, 1975)
- Homenaje a don Antonio Chacón (Hispavox, 1977)
This is when, in the 1970s, he was consecrated as “teacher of the new generation of flamenco” , thus being awarded the national singing prize by the Jerez Chair of Flamencology (1972) . Furthermore, for his album “Homenaje a Don Antonio Chacón” he received the Spanish National Popular Music Award (1978).
Enrique Morente, despite having no knowledge of composition, composes music for television, film and theater.
Construction
In 1988 the show “El Loco Romántico” premiered in Granada, based on the play “Don Quixote de la Mancha.” In the same year, he also premiered “Misa Flamenca”, with texts by Lope de Vega, among others. He recorded “In the House Museum of Federico Garcia Lorca”, of course, with texts by the Granada poet, Federico Garcia Lorca.
His revolution to flamenco
Enrique Morente always stood out for taking flamenco one step further, being considered one of the great revolutionaries of the genre, although always respecting traditional flamenco. This took on great importance when in 1996, together with the Granada group “Lagartija Nick”, he recorded the album Omega, where he revolutionized flamenco by mixing it with rock bases, adapting poems by Federico García Lorca and songs by the Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Other artists such as Tomatito participated in this album
Featured album
In 2006, his work “Sueña La Alhambra” was for many the best flamenco album at the National Music Awards , and in this same year he was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.
In 2007, he collaborated with the Granada band “Los Planetas” on the album “La Leyenda del Espacio”, reminiscent of the work of Camarón de la Isla.
The life of Enrique Morente
Morente married the dancer Aurora Carbonell, with whom he had three children: Estrella, Soleá and Kiki , all of them also flamenco artists. The relationship between Enrique and Aurora was crucial both in their personal life and in their artistic career, as they shared a deep passion for flamenco and collaborated on numerous projects together.
Morente was also known for his intense connection with the culture and history of Spain . I feel this, influences for his works, reflected by authors such as Federico Garcia Lorca.
Enrique Morente died on December 13, 2010 . Without a doubt, he left a legacy in the world of flamenco and music in general. There are several artists who continue to be inspired by his works to this day.