Camarón de la Isla: The artist where Rosalía’s journey to avant-pop stardom began
Growing up in a suburb of Barcelona in the age where TikTok pop was just a mirage in a distant desert nightmare, the artist with the most number one hits in her home country of Spain had to have found her calling somewhere.
In Rosalía’s case, the speakers blasting flamenco around her small Catalan community were the catalyst to what became a career-long passion.
Between her friends’ cars and the park near her school, Rosalía’s young ears bore witness to one of Spain’s greatest flamenco singers, known by his stage name of Camarón De la Isla. When she first heard his music at age 13, she told Billboard, that it marked a “before and after” moment.
His work had revolutionised the flamenco genre, a traditional staple of Spanish society that had kept its foundational costume for the almost 200 years of its existence. Camarón, meaning ‘shrimp’ because of his pale disposition, became the first to incorporate rock, jazz, and oriental influences into the genre, and Rosalía’s modern take on this 18th century Spanish staple used much the same re-imagination of tradition.
Considered one of the all-time greatest flamenco singers, Camarón was responsible for the revival of flamenco in the second half of the 20th century alongside Paco de Lucía and Tomatito, with whom he frequently collaborated. Known to tune his vocal cords as if they were a musical instrument, he helped bridge the gap between contemporary popular music and the folkloric genre by developing the influential ‘nuevo flamenco’ (new flamenco). Through unparalleled vocal technique and emotional intensity, he and his collaborators brought the world’s attention to the music from his Andalusian origins.
Camarón’s influences are clear to see throughout Rosalía’s career, starting from her first act as the vocalist of flamenco music group Kejaleo in 2012. His invigorating vocals were somewhat subdued in Kejaleo’s work, whose music opted for a more melancholic, bossa nova flavour of flamenco than what its ancestors were making. Later, the beginning of her career as a solo artist would be clearly marked with traces of Camarón, most evidently in her earliest albums, Los Angeles and El Mal Querer.
The young singer has generously jumped at every chance to revive his work in public performance since, and has repeatedly sung his praise during interviews as her most important inspiration.
It could be said that she’s his reincarnation, since he died just two months before her birth and around 20 miles away, but she definitely sought to evoke his spirit on various occasions, notably during her performance at a Louis Vuitton show in the Louvre. She played his ‘Las Bulerías de la Perla’ at one of the most important fashion events of the year, invoking the iconic artist to live on in contemporary music.
“Flamenco is the most honest and visceral music,” she told Billboard about the genre that brought her so much acclaim, “You have to be sincere when you sing it. If you’re not, it doesn’t work”. It may be the fruit of a privileged few whose vocal range allows for it, but flamenco is no longer savoured by a minority. Rosalía’s journey along its poorly paved roads brought the forgotten genre to the charts, and her musical ancestors took their rightful place in the spotlight with it.
