The gypsy singer from Cordoba José Plantón, better known in the world of flamenco singing with the artistic name of El Calli, died this Thursday at 67 years of age, a victim of the coronavirus and after spending two months in the ICU. He was born in Córdoba in 1953 and belonged to one of the most flamenco families in Córdoba.
El Calli always made a point of showing that visceral excitability characteristic of his race that would give him a sign of fidelity in defending the legacy of the great singers who influenced him so much, in which the figures of Camarón, Antonio Mairena, Pansequito, Pastora Pavón, Fosforito, and others would be decisive for his training as a singer.
For the Cordoba fans secluded in the intimacy of a peña like the Flamenca de Córdoba, which in the 80s was already a prominent reference in the consolidation of our brand, the frequent visits of El Calli and his brothers would fill the weekly meeting of Fridays, providing a new air that differed, in a palpable way, from that other way of approaching the clearly more slow and sententious Cordovan cante.
In a way, this assessment was very evident in the 1989 edition of the Córdoba National Contest, when he had the opportunity to appreciate his unmistakable jondo trait and that mastery of the compass, which, along with the lyrics of his own creativity, gave him an aura that accompanied him until the covid ended his trajectory of flamenco cabal, always committed to defending the most racial and authentically gypsy cante that he carried as one of his most worthy ambassadors.
His concern led him to record several albums that, to further enhancement, included prestigious names in flamenco art, such as Fosforito, El Pele, José Antonio Rodríguez, Paco Cepero, Vicente Amigo, Niño Seve, his children, Lolo and Rafa Plantón, followers of his legacy, and so many others, who left his generous collaboration in Sonidos con Alma, his most recent creation, in Sueño Gitano and Orgullo de Estirpe, highly significant credentials of his dedication to cante, in which he put all his talent and that will last, without a doubt, in the memory of the Cordoba fans.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
