Silverio Franconetti facts for kids
Silverio Franconetti y Aguilar, also known simply as Silverio (June 10, 1831 – May 30, 1889) was a singer and the leading figure of the period in flamenco history known as The Golden Age, which was marked by the creation and definition of most musical forms or palos, the increasing professionalization of flamenco artists, and the shift of center from private gatherings and taverns towards commercial venues called cafés cantante. Silverio's voice was called “the honey from Alcarria”.
Biography
Silverio Franconetti was born in Seville. His parents were Nicolás Franconetti, born in Rome, and María de la Concepción Aguilar, born in Alcalá de Guadaira. He spent his childhood in Morón de la Frontera, and he learned to be a tailor. He spent time in his youth with the Gypsies who worked in the forges, listening to their songs. He was particularly influenced by one singer named El Fillo.
He soon decided to quit his job as tailor and start a career as singer in Seville and then in Madrid. At 25 years of age, he moved to Montevideo, Uruguay where he made a living either as soldier or as picador. He went back to Spain in 1864 to resume his career as singer. He started a partnership with Manuel "El Burrero" and both opened a café cantante (also called El Burrero). However, their different criteria soon caused them to break apart: while el Burrero prioritized business, for Silverio artistic quality was all. Soon Silverio opened his own café, the "Café de Silverio", where he invited the most outstanding figures of flamenco of his time, also performing himself regularly. His café gave a definite impulse to the trend of opening cafés cantante, which in a few years became numerous in all Andalusia and also in the rest of Spain.
His work
As a singer, Silverio was deeply influenced by El Fillo, from whom he learnt most of his repertoire. However, according to traditional flamencology, he radically adapted those songs to his own style. However, it is difficult to attribute any of the existing flamenco forms to his creation. The song known as cabal de Silverio is often thought to be a recreation of the cabal attributed to El Fillo. In spite of the debates about possible attribution, he remains the most famous and discussed singer of his time.
His popularization of flamenco through the café cantante was first objected by folklorist Demófilo, who wrote the first biography of Silverio in his book Colección de cantes flamencos.
Sources
ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: El cante flamenco, Alianza Editorial, Madrid, Second edition, 1998. ISBN: 84-206-9682-X
MAIRENA, Antonio & MOLINA, Ricardo: Mundo y formas del cante flamenco, Librería Al-Ándalus, Third Edition, 1979
MARTÍN SALAZAR, Jorge: Los cantes flamencos, Diputación Provincial de Granada, Granada, 1991 ISBN: 84-7807-041-9
RÍOS RUIZ, Manuel: El Gran libro del flamenco, Vol. II: Intérpretes, Calambur, Madrid, ISBN: 84-88015-99-2
See also
In Spanish: Silverio Franconetti para niños
