El Canario
Full name
Date of birth
Place of birth
Biography
Juan Reyes Osuna "el Canario" was born in Álora (Malaga) in 1857 and had a tragic death in Seville in 1885. At first, he was known as "Malofino". He was a master singer of serranas and, especially, of malagueñas, created several styles, revolutionised style with one of these,different from the others, which starts with a segmentation taken fromthe second or third line of the verse. This resource, of great beauty,has also been imitated by other singers of malagueñas and for other styles, tientos and fandangos de Huelva.
However, el Canario made history more so for his legendary death than for what he didduring his lifetime. The singer died at five-thirty in the morning on 13 August 1885 from a haemorrhage of the heart, according to the deathcertificate of the Civil Registry of Seville, after his performance at the summer café of Burrero, next to the Triana Bridge, in the Nevería del Chino.
That night there was another performer at the café of Burrero, la Rubia of Malaga, Francisca Colomer Sierra, born in Valladolid (at the age of three years she moved with her family to the Perchel neighbourhood of Malaga), with whom it was rumoured he had a romance. There was friction between the father of the singer, Lorenzo Colomer Ricart, and el Canario -it is unclear as to whether due to jealousy of his professionalsuccess or for not approving the supposed sentimental relationshipbetween the singers- so both went outside to settle scores, and thefather of La Rubia stabbed el Canario in the heart. The event made thepress and served to add fire to the campaign of that time against thesupposed marginality of the café singers.
