Diego del Morao & Josemi Carmona Trio feat. Nino de Los Reyes

A Homage to Pepe Habichuela

25 Oct 2025

A tribute to Pepe Habichuela, feat. Diego del Morao & Josemi Carmona

Pepe Habichuela’s guitar harbours 60 years of flamenco history. It spans a life full of flamenco, of glorious moments at the side of great singers such as Juanito Valderrama and Camarón de la Isla. And of course the legendary Enrique Morente, the legendary flamenco innovator, admired by Leonard Cohen, with whom the guitarist from Granada formed a historic duo for many decades. Habichuela & Morente became the trailblazers of what came to be called ‘nuevo flamenco’ in the seventies.

Pepe is the ‘toque granaíno’ par excellence and patriarch of the Habichuela family dynasty. On doctor’s orders, however, he can no longer travel. In close consultation with Pepe himself, the Flamenco Biennial has found a replacement: none other than Diego del Morao, who will, together with Josemi Carmona, trace the key moments of Pepe Habichuela’s career.

As the son and successor of the legendary Moraíto Chico, Diego del Morao continues the guitar tradition of the gitano Morao dynasty with phenomenal brilliance — just as Josemi keeps his father’s legacy alive. The toque — the guitar traditions of Granada and Jerez — united in one top ensemble!

A unique concert in which we can enjoy the classical style of the Habichuelas from Granada, while at the same time hearing a new, jazzy flamenco sound infused with the soniquete — the swing of Jerez — of which Diego del Morao is the guardian. With rhythmic accents by dancer Niño de Los Reyes.

Pepe Habichuela, born in 1944 in Granada as José Antonio Carmona Carmona, is now, after the death of his brother Juan Habichuela, the patriarch of the ancient gitano guitar dynasty which bears the name of their grandfather ‘Habichuela el Viejo’ (Old Bean). He flaunts his 'arte' not just as an accompanist, but also outside flamenco. In 1964 he exchanged Granada for Madrid and linked his guitar to the great voices of singers such as Juanito Valderrama, Camarón de la Isla, Carmen Linares and made a name for himself as one of the regular accompanists of Enrique Morente.

In 2001, he made the album Yerbagüena with the Bollywood Strings Orkest of violinist Chandru, a unique amalgamation of flamenco guitar and Indian string music. He toured the world with renowned jazz double bass player Dave Holland and their project ‘Hands’. He is the father of Josemi Carmona and uncle of Juan José Carmona 'El Camborio' and Antonio Carmona. The three formed the wildly popular 'New Flamenco Band' Ketama in the 1990s.

Introduction - Meet the Artist

19:30 Introduction by Carlos van Tongeren: Two generations of guitarists in Granada and Jerez

22:30 Meet the artist led by Carlos van Tongeren & Ernestina van Noort

In this introduction, Carlos van Tongeren discusses the modern guitar playing of Diego del Morao and Josemi Carmona. Using musical examples, he illustrates how the styles of these two guitarists fit within their respective family traditions — Josemi Carmona hailing from the famous Habichuela family of Granada, while Diego del Morao represents the style of Los Morao from Jerez — yet also extend far beyond them. The modern sound of Carmona blends seamlessly with that of Diego del Morao, the celebrated representative of the Jerez guitar tradition, who takes part in the performance as a special guest musician.
Carlos van Tongeren also reflects on the recent publication by flamenco expert José Manuel Gamboa about the life of master guitarist Pepe Habichuela, and on the special relationship between Pepe Habichuela and his son Josemi Carmona, who has become one of the foremost representatives of modern flamenco jazz.

Carlos van Tongeren is a researcher at the University of Granada and a flamenco guitarist. He previously held positions as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Spanish Cultural Studies at the University of Manchester and as Assistant Professor of Hispanistic Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen. He is the author of Rhythm and Heritage in Modern Flamenco Guitar (Cambridge University Press, 2025) and has published several other works on the connections between flamenco and the memory of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975). His first solo album as a flamenco guitarist, Moradas, was released in 2023.