Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spai

April 19, 1955

Flamenco cantador José Mercé (born José Soto Soto) began singing at the age of six, becoming a soloist in his local church, La Basílica de la Merced in Jerez, while improving his natural skills by participating in Antonio Gades' theater company. It was during the early '70s that Mercé moved to Madrid to join a new generation of flamenco performers, such as Camarón (born José Monge Cruz), also known as El Camarón de la Isla; Tomatito (born Manuel Moreno Junquera); and talented guitarist Paco de Lucía. He performed with Gades until the mid-'80s, traveling halfway across the world in the process, and later released a string of albums that featured a modern, commercially successful interpretation of the flamenco tradition. ~ Drago Bonacich