With more than half a century of memorable experiences, the Caracolá Lebrijana (flamenco festival) has been the inspiration for renowned flamenco festivals and has hosted the most important personalities of flamenco folk songs, guitar playing and dancing. Its light continues to shine.
The Lebrija Caracolá took its first tentative steps on 9 September 1966, spurred by the sincere enthusiasm of a large group of aficionados, which would eventually become a cultural association in 1969 under the name of La Debla. These aficionados were the creators of this generous act of love from which emerged one of the most important flamenco festivals in Andalusia, which every year puts Lebrija on the map as one of the most eagerly awaited flamenco events of the year.
On those dates, the Master Pedro Peña Fernández, a regular guitar player in the incipient flamenco festivals which began to flourish in the 1960s, spearheaded the initiative to create a local festival modelled on those of Utrera (1957) or Mairena del Alcor (1962). Lebrija – recalls the guitarist – had more than enough attributes to create its own summer flamenco event, both for its privileged geographical location in the so-called flamenco triangle, and for its fertile creative harvest. The one which always knew how to unveil the most subtle essences and breathe in the aromas of the veteran interpreters-pivot for the flamenco to come, from the watchtower of the great name of the Golden Age of nineteenth-century flamenco, Diego Fernández Flores “Lebrijano el Viejo”, to Juaniquí, Pinini, El Chozas, Antonia Pozo or La Perrata. A rich amalgam of flamenco faces, mostly gypsies, which make up the shared memory of this multifaceted art and reticular mosaic that is flamenco of Lebrija.
The importance of La Caracolá in the history of flamenco is corroborated by the long list of artists who have written the lines of its intense history, which, like the very gypsy folk songs and life itself, has never been unaffected by either its sorrows or its joys.
Recognised personalities such as El Lebrijano, Curro Malena, Concha Vargas, Inés Bacán, Miguel Funi, Pedro Bacán, Pepe Montaraz, Manuel de Paula, Curro Vargas or Luis de Lebrija are the mirror in which the new Lebrijano lifeblood continues to stare into, from José Valencia and Rycardo Moreno to Pedro María Peña and Dorantes; from Fernanda Carrasco to Anabel Valencia; from Eva Ruiz to José Luis Vidal El Lebri, Luis Malena, Luis Carrasco, José Bacán, Nano Peña or Antonio José.
And, alongside all of them, the aficionados who, as custodians of authenticity, sing, dance or play, displaying the rich sediment of the dances, the act of flamenco guitar playing and the echoes of flamenco singers, gypsies and non-gypsies, of our people.
Always invoking a spirit of freedom, the Lebrija festival opened its arms, from the very beginning, to flamenco artists from sister lands such as Jerez, Los Puertos, Utrera or Morón. A never-ending task trying to mention all these artists: Camarón de la Isla, Enrique Morente, Fosforito, Turronero, José Menese, Parrilla de Jerez, Antonio Núñez El Chocolate, Manuela Carrasco, Matilde Coral, Carmen Linares, Aurora Vargas…
And, of course, the unforgettable sisters Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera, so beloved in this land.
Half a century after than first edition in the now Cine España, and even with the many difficulties that it has been able to overcome, the light of the Lebrija Caracolá continues to shine. The gypsy families and artists, the flamenco cultural association Pepe Montaraz, the Hermandad de los Gitanos de Lebrija (The Gypsy Brotherhood of Lebrija), the Lebrija City Council, the public and local businesses such as the González Palacios winery, have set out to embrace the dream of its founders, defending a festival which perpetuates in the echoes of the stages the very message of flamenco of Lebrija.
Avec plus d’un demi-siècle d’expériences mémorables, la Caracolá Lebrijana a représenté un souffle pour certains festivals de flamenco prestigieux et a accueilli les plus hauts personnages du chant, de la guitare et de la danse. Il brille encore.
La Caracolá Lebrijana a débuté le 9 septembre 1966, encouragée par l’enthousiasme sincère d’un groupe important de jeunes amateurs qui finirait par devenir une association culturelle en 1969, dénommée La Debla. Ils sont à l’origine de cette grande manifestation d’amour qui donnerait le jour à l’un des principaux festivals de flamenco en Andalousie et qui, chaque année, transforme Lebrija en épicentre des rendez-vous de flamenco les plus attendus.
À cette époque, le maître Pedro Peña Fernández, joueur de guitare habituel dans les festivals de flamenco qui commençaient à apparaître dans les années 1970, avait pris l’initiative de la création d’un festival local semblable à ceux d’Utrera (1957) ou de Mairena del Alcor (1962). Le guitariste avait évoqué que Lebrija rassemblait suffisamment de vertus pour avoir sa propre manifestation de flamenco d’été, tant pour sa situation géographique privilégiée, dans ce que l’on appelle le « triangle flamenco », que pour la fertilité de sa moisson créative. Celle qui a toujours su ouvrir le pot des parfums les plus subtiles et sentir les arômes des interprètes les plus chevronnés, servant de charnière au flamenco de demain, depuis son mirador du grand nom de l’âge d’or du flamenco du XIXe siècle, Diego Fernández Flores Lebrijano el Viejo, jusqu’à Juaniquí, Pinini, El Chozas, Antonia Pozo ou La Perrata. Un riche amalgame de personnages flamencos, la plupart gitans, intègre la mémoire partagée de cet art éclectique et mosaïque réticulaire qu’est le flamenco de Lebrija.
De l’importance de La Caracolá dans l’histoire du flamenco témoigne la longue liste d'artistes qui ont écrit les lignes de son histoire, jamais indifférente aux peines ou aux joies, tout comme le chant gitan et la vie même.
Des artistes reconnus tels qu’El Lebrijano, Curro Malena, Concha Vargas, Inés Bacán, Miguel Funi, Pedro Bacán, Pepe Montaraz, Manuel de Paula, Curro Vargas ou Luis de Lebrija sont le miroir dans lequel se reflète encore la sève de Lebrija, depuis José Valencia et Rycardo Moreno jusqu’à Pedro María Peña y Dorantes ; depuis Fernanda Carrasco jusqu’à Anabel Valencia ; depuis Eva Ruiz jusqu’à José Luis Vidal El Lebri, Luis Malena, Luis Carrasco, José Bacán, Nano Peña ou Antonio José.