Male flamenco singer |
| Name:Fernando Fernández Monje |
| Birth: 1934 Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) |
| Death: 1981 |
"When he was inspired and he had this, this, that light, that we don't know what it is, that's when what he was letting out was a diamond, something extraordinary. When he sang badly, he sang worse than all of the cantaores who have ever sung badly". Manuel Morao, guitarist.
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Terremoto de Jerez was a heterodox cantaor, not because he wanted to innovate, but rather because, as he didn't know how to read or write, he could only express himself through his singing. Making his art into his only means of expression turned it into the deepest kind of singing, that singing which springs from the heart and expresses the deepest feelings. His ability only responded to inspiration, without technique, without any measure of the meter or the rhythm.
He may be the most important cantaor from Jerez in the second half of the twentieth century. He grew up in the extremely flamenco environment of the Santiago neighbourhood, where he began singing and dancing as a child in exchange for a few coins. But his artistry also came from his blood, considering that he was related to the most important flamenco families in Jerez. The seguiriyas were the cante (style) that Terremoto de Jerez sang best. |
Terremoto de Jerez
