Spain’s flamenco scene has been shaken after a simmering feud between two celebrated personalities of the musical genre erupted amid threats and insults.
The singer known as Niño de Elche has long had a poor relationship with the flamenco critic Manuel Martín Martín, who has frequently taken a dim view of his performances.
But their quarrel escalated recently when the singer posted comments on Twitter expressing the wish that Martín were “in jail or dead”, adding: “I’ve been told you don’t have long to live anyway.”
Mr Martín, who is the flamenco critic for the conservative El Mundo newspaper, has been suffering from cancer in recent years. An outspoken figure known for his traditional views of flamenco, he has often caused controversy.
In a review of a performance by Niño de Elche in Seville in 2018, Mr Martín described him as “a noisy lout”, adding that “this chancer is vomiting on flamenco”.
An organisation representing flamenco associations in the southern region of Andalucía responded to the dispute by issuing a statement that read: “Lately we have seen how some artists, unhappy with the reviews that Manuel Martín Martín writes and publishes about their performances, lose all respect and resort to personal insults.”
Many figures from the flamenco world have rallied around the critic, who claims that another flamenco singer, known as Arcángel, threatened him in person in a bar in September with the words “I sh*t on your dead”, because of his reviews.
In a review of one concert, Mr Martín wrote that Arcángel had performed “Black Friday music — that is, discount flamenco, for entertainment, lacking any tribulation”.
Mr Martín has responded in print to the apparent threats by writing on the Expoflamenco website that “flamenco needs critics to save it from desperation”.
He added: “It horrifies me to have these maniacs breathing down my neck. Aggression, harassment, insults, threats and hate crimes are not the answer to a difference of opinion.”
Niño de Elche, whose real name is Francisco Contreras Molina, started his career performing traditional flamenco, but has since branched out into other genres, such as pop, electronica and bachata. He is one of the best-known figures associated with flamenco, although like many artists who have experimented in other areas, he outrages purists.
Later this month Niño de Elche will release a new album, prompting Mr Martín to suggest that this had caused the singer to stir up the furore.
Niño de Elche has doubled down on his position, refusing to take back his comments.
He added: “This character that people see in me, of confrontation — I have never felt that … I have never done something thinking about provoking because people aren’t interested in that.”
