El Pena Hijo
Full name
Date of birth
Place of birth
Biography
José Muñoz Martín, “El Pena Hijo” was born in Malaga in the year 1900 and died in Mendoza (Argentina) on September 1, 1969. Son of the also famous singer of Álora Sebastián Muñoz Beigveder “El Pena” and the dancer Carmen Martín Postigos “La Dientúa”, since he was a child he lived and experienced classic flamenco singing, learned to sing and played the guitar from a young age. He was the most important singer of Malaga in the years of “Ópera Flamenca”, also called “Baroque Flamenco (1920-55), thanks to his talent and the knowledge he gained of his father and other old singers of the time.
When he already dedicated himself professionally to this art, he met Marchena, Vallejo, Escacena, and Cepero, who all influenced him, and he adopted the decor, extensions and filigrees characteristic of the new period of singing, the "Flamenco Opera". In 1927, he won the Grand Cup of Andalusia at the Imperial Theatre in Seville. Later, in 1929, he choreographed two shows: “El Mantón de Manila" at the Price Theatre and “La Copla Andaluza” at the Pavón Theatre. He goes on tour in 1930 with Manuel Vallejo and in 1931 performs throughout Spain with Niño de Marchena and Angelillo, until 1933. After hits in the shows at Vedrines and Montserrat, the Civil War surprised him in Marseille (France) and he decided to not return to Spain. Seeking exile in Argentina in 1937, he continued singing in theatres and colmaos.
El Pena Hijo is now remembered most fundamentally for his songs and seguiriyas and fandangos. He was a great singer of seguiriyas, although with a small repertoire he made a great contribution, "la Cabal del Pena", based on the wonderful version of his father of "la Cabal de Silverio". Pena Hijo extends and decorates it with the filigree in accordance with the musical aesthetics of the time. He created fandangothat were greatly personal, musical and dramatic, influenced by Marchena and Vallejo, ending with a long stretch in display of his unquestionable faculties and very much in tune with the tastes of the public of the "Flamenco Baroque".
He was an artist highly rated in his time and sang extraordinarily also malagueñas, soleares>, tarantas and medias granaínas.
Discography
El Pena Hijo has an extensive discography, recorded 60 double-sided slate albums, 120 songs, in which he was accompanied on the guitar by Pepe de Badajoz, Manolo de Badajoz, Ramón Montoya, Miguel Borrull, Niño Ricardo and Sabicas in his last recordings, which were recorded in Argentina in 1940. He worked with the record labels: ODEÓN, GRAMÓFONO, PARLOPHON, REGAL and VÍCTOR.
