Pepe Marchena

Pepe Marchena (* 1903 in Marchena, † December 4, 1976 in Seville; actually José Tejada Martín ) was a Spanish flamenco singer.

In his youth, Pepe Marchena worked as a shepherd, and he later learned locksmith and innkeeper. In the evening he sang in the bars around. He initially called El niño de Marchena ( The boy from Marchena ). After he had won an amateur contest in Fuentes de Andalucía, he finally received a contract in a cafe in Seville. Outside the province of Seville, he debuted first in Cordoba and was recommended in 1921 by the singer Rafael Pareja to Madrid.

Here he recorded his first record and occurred together with known flamenco artists. He starred in films and sang in so-called flamenco operas, of which he himself wrote and directed some.

He toured all over Spain, North Africa, the Middle East and to Paris. In 1952 he began to give lectures about flamenco and 1954 he led in a radio broadcast in front of all styles of flamenco singing. Over the decades he has been honored with numerous awards and stood with all sizes of flamenco of his time on stage. In 1974, he was able to celebrate its 50th anniversary on stage. Soon after, he was diagnosed with cancer. On November 28, 1976, six days before his death, he took leave of his public audience and all other flamenco artists.

Pepe Marchena created his own school of flamenco, the marchenismo.