Famous flamenco singers: five legends of cante

This review brings together five famous flamencos cantaores of the 20th century: Camarón de la Isla, Antonio Mairena, Fosforito, La Niña de los Peines and Enrique Morente. Here you have their dates, their recordings and their awards, verified by official sources, in addition to the complete list of the five Golden Keys of Cante awarded to date.

If you are in Seville and want to hear live cante, you can Check the schedules and prices for the Tablao Flamenco Las Setas, under the Metropol Parasol.

Camarón de la Isla: from Paco de Lucía to The Legend of Time

José Monge Cruz, Camarón de la Isla, was born in San Fernando (Cádiz) on December 5, 1950 and died in Badalona on July 2, 1992, at the age of 41. According to the Paco de Lucía Foundation and the Tourism of Andalusia, he recorded nine albums with Paco de Lucía on guitar between 1969 and 1977.

In 1979 he published The legend of time, produced by Ricardo Pachón and recorded with Tomatito and Raimundo Amador on guitars, as well as electric bass, drums and sitar. It was a groundbreaking album that much of the purist fans rejected at the time. In 2000, eight years after his death, the Junta de Andalucía awarded him Llave de Oro the Cante title posthumously.

Antonio Mairena: research and Llave de Oro

Antonio Cruz García, Antonio Mairena, was born in Mairena del Alcor (Seville) on September 7, 1909 and died in Seville on September 5, 1983. As a young man, he became known as «Niño de Rafael» and later as «Niño de Mairena», before signing as Antonio Mairena. In 1924, at the Feria de Alcalá de Guadaíra, he won his first singing prize.

On May 21, 1962, he received the III Llave de Oro of Cante at the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos de Córdoba. In 1963, he published with the poet Ricardo Molina World and forms of flamenco singing, a work that, according to its official website, systematized the flamenco palos. He recorded several anthologies of songs, and also stood out in the saeta and in 1983 he received the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts.

Fosforito: from the Córdoba Competition to the ultimate Llave de Oro

Antonio Fernández Díaz, Fosforito, was born in Puente Genil (Córdoba) on August 3, 1932 and died in Málaga on November 13, 2025, at the age of 93. He began singing as a child, but his breakthrough came in 1956, at the I National Art Contest Flamenco of Córdoba, where he won all the prizes.

He recorded around forty albums, including an anthology with Paco de Lucía on guitar, and recovered local styles such as the zángano of Puente Genil. On October 11, 2005, he received the V Llave de Oro of Cante at the Teatro Cervantes in Málaga, the last one awarded to date. Before that, he had received the Pastora Pavón Prize, Niña de los Peines, from the Junta de Andalucía in its first edition (1999), and he also received the Medal of Andalusia.

La Niña de los Peines: the voice that Lorca used as an example

Pastora María Pavón Cruz, La Niña de los Peines, was born in Seville on February 10, 1890 and died on November 26, 1969. She was the sister of the cantaor Tomás Pavón and of Arturo Pavón, and was married to the cantaor Pepe Pinto. Federico García Lorca cited her as an example in his lecture Play and Theory of the Duende, pronounced in Buenos Aires in 1933 and dedicated to the goblin.

He recorded more than 170 songs between 1910 and 1950. The Junta de Andalucía declared those recordings a Cultural Interest Asset with the category of Documentary Heritage. Decree 135/1999, of May 25. We have recounted their trajectory and that of other great female voices in women of flamenco.

Enrique Morente: Omega and a saga of singers

Enrique Morente was born in Granada in 1942 and died in Madrid on December 13, 2010. In 1996 he recorded Omega with the Granada rock group Lagartija Nick, on poems by Poet in New York by Lorca and songs by Leonard Cohen.

The album puzzled a good part of flamencoology at the time. On its thirtieth anniversary, in 2026, his son Kiki Morente and Lagartija Nick brought it back to the stage, with performances at the Generalife Theatre in Granada at the end of August. His three children with the dancer Aurora Carbonell, Estrella, Enrique «Kiki» and Soleá Morente also sing.

The one Llave de Oro of Cante: the five granted

Llave de Oro The Cante award is not an annual prize: it has only been awarded five times.

• Tomás «el Nitri», in the 19th century. It was the first and the exact circumstances of its award are unclear.
• Manuel Vallejo (Seville, 1891-1960), in 1926; he had won the Pavón Cup in Madrid in 1925 and Manuel Torre personally handed over the key to it.
• Antonio Mairena, On May 21, 1962, at the Alcázar of the Christian Kings of Córdoba, during the National Art Competition Flamenco.
• Camarón de la Isla, in 2000, posthumously, by resolution of the Regional Government of Andalusia.
• Fosforito, On October 11, 2005, at the Cervantes Theatre in Málaga; the Andalusian Governing Council approved the concession on July 26 of that year.

The flamenco as a whole has been inscribed since 2010 on the list of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which defines it as the fusion of cante, dance and percussion.

Where to listen to live cante flamenco in Seville

En el Tablao Flamenco Las Setas, en la planta baja del Metropol Parasol (Plaza de la Encarnación, 38), hay cuatro pases diarios: 18:00, 19:30, 21:00 y 22:30, con un pase extraordinario a las 16:30 en temporada alta. Cada espectáculo dura 60 minutos sin descanso, con ocho artistas en escena: cante, guitarra, percusión y baile. Las puertas abren 15 minutos antes y la sala tiene 140 plazas.

The artistic direction is by Sandra Guerrero «La Negra» and the cast exceeds 80 rotating artists. The voices of each performance change according to the line-up; the guitars that support them are reviewed by us in famous flamenco guitarists. Tickets from £28.

Frequently asked questions about famous flamenco flamenco singers

Who are the most famous flamenco singers in history?

Five of the best-known are La Niña de los Peines (1890-1969), Antonio Mairena (1909-1983), Fosforito (1932-2025), Camarón de la Isla (1950-1992) and Enrique Morente (1942-2010). Three of them, Mairena, Fosforito and Camarón, received the Cante Llave de Oro award, and the recordings of La Niña de los Peines are a Cultural Asset of Interest.

What is the Llave de Oro del Cante and who has received it?

It is an extraordinary recognition, not annual, that has only been granted five times: to Tomás «el Nitri» in the nineteenth century, to Manuel Vallejo in 1926, to Antonio Mairena in 1962, to Camarón de la Isla in 2000 posthumously and to Fosforito in 2005, the last until today.

Why is La Niña de los Peines important?

Because she recorded more than 170 songs between 1910 and 1950, a collection that the Junta de Andalucía declared a Cultural Interest Asset in 1999 with the category of Documentary Heritage. In addition, Federico García Lorca cited her as an example of a duende in the conference she gave in Buenos Aires in 1933.

Where can I listen to live flamenco singing in Seville?

En el Tablao Flamenco Las Setas, bajo el Metropol Parasol, hay cuatro pases diarios (18:00, 19:30, 21:00 y 22:30) de 60 minutos sin descanso, con ocho artistas en escena: cante, guitarra, percusión y baile. La sala tiene 140 plazas y las entradas parten de 28 €.