Spanish flamenco singer to perform in Amman

AMMAN — Spanish flamenco singer extraordinaire Curro Piñana is scheduled to perform in Amman on Tuesday, presenting different styles of flamenco songs to his audience that tell stories, some of which date back hundreds of years ago.

Piñana, who belongs to a family involved in flamenco music, will be accompanied by his brother, guitarist Jose, according to the organisers.

Winner of the Lámpara Minera at La Unión in 1998, one of the most prestigious flamenco awards, Curro will perform 10 songs that reflect the spirit of desperation, hope and struggle, and one of them will be the story of mine workers, organisers said.

The concert, hosted by the Spanish embassy in Amman and Instituto Cervantes, will take place at the Royal Cultural Centre at 7:30pm.

“This is not my first time in Jordan, as I performed more than once at the Jerash festival,” Curro said in an interview with The Jordan Times, adding that he likes the way the Jordanian audience interacts with flamenco.

The artist started singing flamenco when he was seven years old, and his training began with his grandfather, Antonio Piñana Senior, who taught him the wide range of singing styles.  

Trained as a psychologist, Curro currently combines his work at the Murcia Conservatory of Music with teaching flamenco singing.

The vocalist said some flamenco songs and vocals were influenced by Arabic culture and heritage in Andalusia.

Curro released his first album in 1998, in which he adapted poems by Andalusian scholar and poet Ibn Al Arabi that were translated into Spanish. 

So far he has released seven albums, writing some of the songs himself, but influenced by old flamenco songs.