Canalejas de Puerto Real
Who is Canalejas de Puerto Real?
Juan Pérez Sánchez, known artistically as Canalejas de Puerto Real, was born in 1905 in Puerto Real (Cádiz). He descended from a Roma family from Jerez nicknamed “los Paquirri” and was one of eight siblings, among them one known as Moret. That Roma family environment shaped his love of festive cantes from an early age.
Over time he settled in Jaén, where he started his own family: he married and had three children, a city where he would also end up spending much of his life away from the stage.
Career
He began to gain popularity in 1932, with a debut in Barcelona that marked the start of his renown beyond Andalusia. He performed repeatedly at the Circo Price in Madrid alongside other great cantaores of the era, among them José Cepero, and also took his cante abroad, with tours that took him as far as Morocco, where he performed at the Teatro Español in Tetouan. He often shared the stage with the guitarists Martínez — his preferred accompanist —, Vicente el Granaíno and Alfonso Labrador. Among his influences, he especially admired Manuel Torre and El Niño Gloria de Jerez, as well as José Cepero and La Niña de los Peines. In the 1960s came his greatest competition successes: the Lámpara Minera in 1963, first prize for cantes de Levante at the 1964 Concurso Nacional de Córdoba, and a second prize in the professional cartageneras category.
Palos and discography
His repertoire was very broad: alegrías, soleá, aires de Huelva, serranas, malagueñas, fandangos de Almería, granaínas, tarantas, bulerías, cantiñas, tanguillos, villancicos and cartageneras, with a personal stamp on festive cantes. He left recordings on the Belter label in 1961 and Vergara in 1964, with performances of several of these styles.
Legacy
After a career full of competition triumphs, Canalejas de Puerto Real settled permanently in Jaén, where he combined cante with a taxi business without fully abandoning the stage. He died in that city in 1966, leaving behind the memory of one of the most recognized festive voices of his generation.