Salao

The things we know about the life of José Antonio Martín Yáñez, 'Salao', we have been told by other people. That he was born in Germany and is the son of Andalusians from the town of Alosno, birthplace of the fandango. That when he was a teenager, before he was called Salao they called him the Fury and he sang rumba. That he played on the flamenco circuit and saw the world with Joaquín Cortés' flamenco group. That after this, he disappeared off the scene for a long time. He is very shy and hardly speaks about these things. As a matter of fact, he is a man of very few words.

We also know he has suffered a lot. But it isn't necessary for anyone to tell us this. We realize it every time we hear him sing. Salao sings his hardships and his joys. Nothing more, nothing less. He does it in a way that chills the blood but is not liked by flamenco traditionalists. He changes the palos without warning, he flouts the rules. He can't help it because he is a free spirit.

Salao's is as yet an unpublished project that will one day come to light, but before that he has to release the album of guitar and voice that José Antonio Martín has recorded with the tocaores (flamenco artists) Chicuelo and David Cerreduela. Take your time. After so many years of silence, there's no hurry.

Roger Roca for Tots Sants