Grands Cantaores du Flamenco, Vol. 1

His real name was Jose Nunez Melendez - Pepe is the diminutive of Jose and 'matrona' means mid-wife, which was his mother's profession. He was born in the Triana district of Seville in 1887, and his adolescence coincided with the golden era of Flamenco at the beginning of the century. Thus he was able to perfect his work in cante in the company of the greatest: the legendary Manuel Torre, Tomas Pavon and his sister La Nina de Los Peines, and the greatest of them all, Antonio Chacon whose disciple Matrona declared himself to be. In the twenties, he alternated with Chacon for certain performances at the latter's request. He toured all across Europe and in North and South America, appeared on French television, and recorded many records, one of which was an anthology of ''Cante Flamenco'' (entitled ''Tesoro del Flamenco antiguo'') for which he received the prize of the Chair of Flamencology. A master of the purest form of cante, and a rigorous observer of the old style, he left behind an important book of his memoirs, Recuerdos de un cantaor sevillano (1975, Pub. Demofilo - Madrid), after his death at age 92.