Al Gurugu - La Nina de los Peines

Today the DeCaigny sisters visit Spain and flamenco music with La Nina de los Peines (which translates to "the girl with the combs"), but on her birth certificate she is known as Pastora Maria Pavon Cruz.  Cruz was born into a Gypsy family in Andalusia and began her singing career singing on street corners to help support her family.  She was known for the abrasive quality of her voice and powerful delivery and eventually garnered the attention of poets and even flamenco guitar phenom Andres Segovia.  In this day and age is is considered in Spain to be the greates female flamenco singer ever, and her rendition of this song is seen by flamenco efficianados as a must-own single, and that we can thank her for preserving many flamenco styles that would otherwise be lost to modern ears.

The song itself has no known writer and the title "Al gurugu" is a nonsense term to the effects of 'doo doo doo' or 'tro lo lo'.  I couldn't actually find a lot of info on it, so this section will be short.

This recording is backed by flamenco guitar and some claps for percussion.  

Reviews:

Holly:

Al gurugu (La Nina de los Peines): I’ve listened to this song quite a few times trying to wrap my mind around it, and what I think of it. I like the raw quality of the singing, and sometimes I love the ornamentations, and sometimes, to my ear, they sound completely over the top. I definitely like the aggressive, almost angry sound of the guitars and I like the way they interact with the voice, but I’m not sure. The overall effect is not my favourite. For some reason, all the things combined just don’t do it for me. Meh. 2.5/5

Kelly:

I was really excited to listen to this song.  Being a guitar player I really appreciate flamenco music and love how aggressive and erotic it can be.  I absolutely hate to say it, but this song really disappointed me.  I found Cruz's voice more grating than anything - I would have like the song much more if it was just the guitar and clapping.  But, the most distressing thing this song did for me is that I felt next to nothing.  I listen to music to feel - happiness, anguish, hatred, SOMETHING.  The first thing that popped in my head when I listened to this was 'null', which is not a great thought to pop into your head when listening to music.    Sorry "girl with the combs", I shan't be adding this to my collection.  2/5.

Listen here:

http://youtu.be/xK3oOPiPjMI