Enrique 'El Mellizo'. The first great flamenco master.

One the most important historic places for flamenco amateurs should not be a tabern or a stage. It is a cathedral. It sounds rare, but it is. The catedral of Cadiz in not only a temple por christians  but a flamenco  a temple. The reason are the long time that Enrique "El mellizo" was there, seating, hearing the organ sounds, thinking in music.

Enrique "El Mellizo" is so important to flamenco as Vivaldi for the classical music. Gipsy, with an strange  character, he structured some of the most important styles in flamenco and was a great master and singer. It is said that he has a depressive character, bitter and sweet at the same time. In times  where flamenco music was shunned sounds, he worked as butcher and  puntillero, one of the assistants of matador in bullfight.

Three styles: Alegrias, Tientos and Malagueña were structured by him. Also he helps to develop modern Siguirillas style.

There are some desciptions about his behaviour. He was a trough and sweet guy at the same time with drepressing character and full exccentricities. El Mellizo lived close to the Chatedral of Cádiz. It is said that he stay in the Chatedral for hours. His musical obsession was the mixtures of sounds from the pipe organ of the temple. By this fact, probably one of the most importat places in the history of flamenco could be this Cathedral.  From those sounds 'El mellizo' developed part of the current styles on current flamenco.

It is said that Manuel Torres, perhaps the gratest singers with Camaron, cried when a child the first time that he listened to 'El Mellizo'. ? El Mellizo', in an age where there were not media became a kind of leyend.

The single picture that has been conserved show us a man with strange face, hat and a Far West look. Nowday, there are not many clues of this man. A humble advertisment in the house in which he lived and a institutional 'peña' (a social flamenco club) are the few clues.