Podcast Summary: Nuestro flamenco - Guillermo Cano, una vuelta a los escenarios

Podcast: Nuestro flamenco
Host: José María Velázquez-Gaztelu (Radio Clásica)
Episode Air Date: December 8, 2025
Featured Guest: Guillermo Cano
Episode Theme: Guillermo Cano’s return to singing and the transformative journey through hardship, emotion, and flamenco artistry.

Overview

This episode of Nuestro flamenco centers on the return of acclaimed flamenco singer Guillermo Cano to the stage after a prolonged forced hiatus. Through an in-depth and honest interview, host José María Velázquez-Gaztelu and Cano explore the emotional, personal, and professional tribulations that shaped his absence, as well as his renewed vision, creative ambitions, and the place of authenticity in contemporary flamenco. Selections from Cano’s recent work with guitarist Paco Cruzado and others are interwoven, offering both musical context and a testament to his artistry.

Program Structure & Key Segments

• [00:58 – 20:23] Prólogo guitarrístico: Tribute to Manolo Sanlúcar’s ‘Mundo y formas de la guitarra flamenca’
• [25:05 – 51:41] Entrevista central: Guillermo Cano on illness, loss, artistic rebirth, and future plans
• Musical Performances: Throughout, featuring tracks by Manolo Sanlúcar and from Cano’s album, with notable dedications

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Manolo Sanlúcar: Grounding in Flamenco Heritage

[00:58–20:23]

• Host introduces Mundo y formas de la guitarra flamenca, Manolo Sanlúcar’s 1970s trilogy, as foundational for modern flamenco guitar.
• Quoting Claude Worms on the trilogy's deep authenticity:
  • “La originalidad, autenticidad e irrefutable flamencura de la música de este trabajo ha trascendido épocas, modas y tendencias.” ([00:58], Claude Worms as cited by the host)
• Plays tracks: "Soleá Pasito a paso," "Farolillos Caracoles," "Guajira Merchelera," "Viva Jerez" ([07:30], [11:24], [15:51], [20:23])
• Contextualizes Sanlúcar as a reference point for contemporary artists, setting the scene for Cano’s return.

2. Guillermo Cano: The Forced Hiatus, Health, and Grief

[25:05–29:15]

• Cano recounts a challenging period beginning with the diagnosis of a benign tumor in 2019 requiring major surgery and extended recovery.
• Compounded by subsequent misfortunes:
  • “Se me detecta un tumor benigno en el sacro... seis meses después... la pandemia... luego una segunda intervención... después una meningitis... mi padre fallece en un accidente...” ([28:20])
• Emotional impact:
  • “Yo realmente pierdo las ganas totalmente de subirme a un escenario y cantar, porque entiendo que además yo soy un cantador emocional, el que me conoce lo sabe, soy un cantador muy romántico a la hora de abordar mi repertorio...” ([29:15])
• A period of two years with almost no singing, marked by both physical incapacity and loss of artistic spirit.

3. Therapy, Recovery, and Renewed Artistic Vision

[30:00–37:17]

• The return of his "click" to sing again seemed almost inexplicable but vital:
  • “Hace un mes y medio, dos meses... otra vez hizo el clic y aquí estamos, intentando reencontrarnos con uno mismo.” ([29:15])
• Cano discusses reevaluating his repertoire:
  • “Ni soy aquel ni me apetece tampoco retomar mi actividad cantadora haciendo lo que hacía... escuchando entrevistas... para que empiece a surgir las ganas y sobre todo... poder mostrar una versión de Guillermo Cano al 100%.” ([36:08])
• Admits not having formed his artistic identity in a flamenco "peña" but through personal study, starting his singing career in his thirties.

4. The Challenge of Authenticity and Artistic Integrity

[37:17–48:50]

• Reflects on his unique route and emotional investment:
  • “No puedo decir como José el de la Tomasa... que su cante es vivencial... Yo me crié en una casa donde mi padre era el que cantaba en las tabernas... Yo empiezo con 30 años y prácticamente con 32 ya estoy en la oficina de Antonio Montoya...” ([37:53])
• Stresses the responsibility and seriousness behind creating and interpreting diverse flamenco styles.

5. From Anthology to Creation: New Resonance in Repertoire

[45:32–50:55]

• Cano shares that his recent absence and pandemic time led him to composing new songs:
  • “Yo necesitaba ya hacer cosas mías... lo conseguí, hice ese álbum de diez, once cantes...” ([48:50])
• Expresses a deep need for sincerity and authenticity in the projects he brings to the audience:
  • “Siempre ser sincero con uno mismo y sobre todo con la gente que además te apoya y que le apetece escucharte...” ([45:32])
• Intention to reconnect first with his roots and then unveil his contemporary creations, with special mention to collaborating again with guitarist Antonio Carrión.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On facing a forced silence:

  • “Hay muchas inclemencias dentro de la carrera de un cantaor... lo mismo que hay muchas horas de estudio, que hay muchas penas algunas veces, muchas alegrías en otras cuestiones... pero sí es cierto que es muy pensionoso y es muy complicado.”
    — Guillermo Cano ([26:03])

• The emotional burden of adversity:

  • “Cuando tú tienes un problema, ese problema te lo tienes que llevar y cantar por alegría y sonreír... cuando no depende de ti, es un tema de salud... tienes que acatarlo y aguantar el tirón lo que dure.”
    — Guillermo Cano ([26:50])

• On finding new inspiration:

  • “Estoy escuchando mucho... entrevistas, másters de gente como Calixto, una entrevista alargada con Juan Peña Lebrijano... reencontrándome un poco con esas vivencias y escuchando a grandes maestros...”
    — Guillermo Cano ([36:17])

• On authenticity and creative anxiety:

  • “Lo que queda ahí en el trasfondo de mi alma es hacer eso y que quede constancia de esas cosas... para sentirse uno feliz es como dar a luz, dejarlo ahí y bueno, si con el tiempo pasa algo... pues sentirte realizado como artista, como persona también.”
    — Guillermo Cano ([50:00])

Musical Highlights & Timestamps

• Manolo Sanlúcar:

  • [07:30] "Soleá Pasito a paso"
  • [11:24] "Farolillos Caracoles"
  • [15:51] "Guajira Merchelera"
  • [20:23] "Viva Jerez"

• Guillermo Cano performances (with Paco Cruzado, guitar):

  • [25:05] "Soleá de Alcalá", dedicated to Juan Peña Lebrijano
  • [31:07] "Granaína y media granaína", dedicated to Manuel Vallejo
  • [41:03] "Seguiriya", dedicated to Camarón
  • [52:03] "Bulerías" (closing)

Future Directions & Closing

[45:32–51:41]

• Cano hints at a “new stage” — eager for artistic rebirth, rooted in sincerity, and expressing both tradition and personal compositional voice:
  • “Yo creo que lo que queda ahí en el trasfondo de mi alma es hacer eso y que quede constancia de esas cosas... sentirte realizado como artista, como persona también.” ([50:00])
• Host and guest express admiration and anticipation for Cano’s future work.

For First-Time Listeners

This episode offers a panoramic look into modern flamenco's emotional and artistic challenges, as lived by one of its most heartfelt voices. Memoir, therapy, and artistry intermingle, set to the sound of both classic and innovative flamenco. Guillermo Cano’s story is movingly candid—a window into the demands, wounds, and hopes that shape authentic performance. The discussion is as recommended for aficionados of the genre as for anyone moved by perseverance and creative renewal.