Curro Albaicin

Curro Albaicín: keeper of Granada’s timeless duende. Born in Granada’s Sacromonte in 1948, Curro Albaicín grew up dancing for visitors and, by thirteen, was performing full-time in family zambras; global tours began in 1972 and took his earthy cante from Munich to Tokyo. A fierce Lorca devotee, he was shot during the dictatorship for declaiming the poet’s verses—an episode that forged his activist spirit. In 1985 he revived the near-lost zambra with the show “Gitanos del Sacromonte,” later captured by Carlos Saura in Amor brujo. Singer, dancer, author of Zambras de Granada and Sacromonte Flamencos, and scriptwriter for numerous documentaries, he remains the living archive of a UNESCO-listed quarter of winding alleys and jasmine-filled cármenes. Honors include Granada’s Silver Medal and the 2022 “Seniors of the Year” award.