24 quilates

Curatorial Note

Released in 2001 as part of Muxxic’s Palo Nuevo series, 24 Quilates documents Spanish Gitano cantaor Manuel de los Santos “Agujetas” in a concentrated program of martinetes, soleares, bulerías por soleá, siguiriyas, and fandangos, accompanied by flamenco guitarist Enrique de Melchor. Rooted in the Gitano musical traditions of Jerez and in a family lineage of cantaores, Agujetas understood his practice specifically in terms of cante gitano and maintained a strong identification with orally transmitted styles associated with figures such as Manuel Torre, El Marrurro, and Tío José de Paula. The album is particularly significant for its austere focus on voice and guitar and for its documentation of a late twentieth-century approach to traditional cante at a moment of rapid stylistic transformation within flamenco. Issued as a disco-book, the release also includes photographs, biographical material, an interview with Agujetas, and the song texts, extending its value beyond the sound recording itself as a document of Roma musical self-representation and oral tradition in Andalusia.