CORTES Amparo
Duende y amores

MWCD 4047


Music & Words
Spagna

 

Amparo Cortes is the daughter of the well known singer and dancer Gitanillo de Marchena. Her uncle, Gitanillo's brother, was the world famous guitarist Melchor de Marchena. He is still known as one of the greatest and most influential 'tocaores' of all times. Needless to say, with this kind of family background, Amparo was immersed in Sevillian flamenco gitano atmosphere from the time she was a small child. Amparo is a real flamenco. The fact that she no longer lives in Sevilla, but in Brussels, Belgium, hasn't changed that fact.
Amparo has released three cds, her latest album Duende Y Amores has been released in 2005. It is her most 'experimental' album so far, as some of the compositions have been influenced by South American rhythms like tango and rumba. This is also reflected in the instrumentation, as she uses violin and trumpet next to the more classical flamenco instruments.

Amparo is a flamenco singer with en incredible duende, a stage presence which easily captures any audiences she is performing to. She writes poetry almost daily and integrates this into her cantes. Her lyrics are usually autobiographical, very emotional, show a great amount of vulnerability and are mostly beautiful. They are rooted in an oral poetic tradition bearing witness to a surprising fluency in her native Sevillian dialect.



Enrique de Melchor, who plays on Amparo's first album Suenos, is her cousin and the son of Melchor de Marchena. Enrique is just as famous in Spain as his father ever was. Together with Paco de Lucia and Manolo Sanlucar is Enrique on the top of modern generation flamenco guitarists. His talent and virtuosity are admired by professionals and aficionados alike. Enrique is an excellent accompanyist and plays regularly with the great cantaores, such as Jose Menese, Jose Merce and even classical greats as Monserrat Caballe and Jose Carreras, with whom he played for the United Nations in New York. He is also an impressive concert guitarist and has won a number of important prizes including the 'Premio de la Catedra de Flamencologia de Jerez' and the 'Castillete de Oro de la Union'.



On her second album, Candela, her songs are ‘lighter’. She sings sevillanas, rumbas, bulerias and alegrias, most of them she wrote herself. But even a ‘cantes chicos’ (small songs) becomes ‘grande’ or ‘jondo’, when a great singer sings them.

Both albums were recorded by Belgian VRT Radio 3.