The veteran flamenco singer, José Mercé, is giving a concert on 28 October in the Sala Roja Concha Velasco at Teatros del Canal, as part of the Suma Flamenca Festival to present his latest album: Flamenco por derecho.
Born in Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz) in 1955, José Soto Soto, better known as José Mercé, is a flamenco singer and member of one of the longest dynasties in Spain: he is the great grandson of Paco la Luz, nephew of Manuel Soto Monje, el Sordera, patriarch of flamenco in Jerez, and cousin of Vicente Soto, Sordera. At the age of 13, he released his first album, Cultura Jonda XIV. Bandera de Andalucía, with the help of two icons of this virtuosity: Paco de Lucia and Manolo Sanlúcar.
That was the beginning of a meteoric career that was certified in 1986 when he won the National Flamenco Art Competition in Cordoba. To date, he has sold more than one million copies and has innovated by mixing flamenco with other styles, such as blues, soul or pop.
He was named Honorary Citizen of the province of Cadiz in 2005 and won the Medal of Andalusia in 2010 or the Odeón Award in 2020 for best flamenco artist, among other awards. He is therefore considered to be one of the greatest flamenco talents ever and a soloist of masses within this genre.
