Philosophy. fistrum (“a sexual word from the year 4 that is born in me”) and the Greek sophia (“that which has wisdom”). Fistrosophy is a way of life, a discipline, a way of being and seeing the world, as its reference Chiquito de la Calzada (born Gregorio Sánchez) did. A character that offers multiple layers of analysis, from its impact on everyday language to its sociological significance, which transcend the category of humorous icon. So much so that this week the first days dedicated to “study and reflection on the figure of Chiquito” will be held. It will be held at La Térmica in Málaga and the invitations have long since sold out.
The I Cycle of Fistrosophy, which is serious, is one of the proposals that this year brings Moments, the International Festival of Contemporary Popular Subcultures and Visual Arts, a festival that for a decade has discovered the history of urban cultures attached to do it yourself philosophy. From punkrock, to skateboarding, through street photography, surfing, graffiti or jazz. And now, Chiquito.
For some time now, Juanjo Moya, promoter of Moments, had been thinking about the idea of dedicating a space to the comedian from Malaga. “This is a festival of popular subcultures, which are those that emerge on the streets. And there is nothing more popular than Chiquito,” he highlights. The comedian became a national reference, but he has a Malaga essence that goes unnoticed outside the city. “A kind of last of the Mohicans, a type of Malagueño that has almost disappeared. The tip of the iceberg of a daily culture in this city, just like other cities have,” he points out.
The choice of the name already shows the vindictive intention of its ideologues. “We wanted a term indebted to his school, and that had power, was original and vindicated him not only as a comedian, but as a character who left a social mark,” explains Francisco Daniel Medina, poet and novelist, and one of the coordinators of the cycle. . “Hence fistrosophy, because it has an impact on the way we speak and even think.”
Seed of a new type of humor
Medina himself will have a talk about Chiquito’s language with the Málaga MC Sergio Albarracín (Elphomega) titled “The importance of being called Lucas.” They are both from ’75, friends, and they dedicate themselves to amassing words: in walls and rhymes, in the case of Elphomega, and in the books of poems and novels that Medina writes. Hence they emphasize the influence on the way of speaking and even moving that Chiquito had on his generation: “We went to the B52 [un popular bar en pleno Centro de Málaga] and we didn’t stop: it was all the time, “fistro!”, “sinner!”
For years, that was non-stop. More or less explicit debtors arose, such as Florentino Fernández (whom Chiquito sued) and others who made their recourse to the absurd their support point to create their own language, such as the La Hora Chanante humor. “Although in Chiquito many words were invented, others had to do with the way of speaking in their territory. There are neighbors and relatives who speak like this, and that is why we people from Malaga identify so much with him,” says Natalia Meléndez (professor of Journalism and specialized in Humor), who will analyze his humorous legacy with the illustrator Ángel Idígoras.
“He planted a seed to make a humor that kept people so amazed that they ended up laughing.” At the same time, it is possible that he buried the classic joke teller, because the journey began to matter more than the end.
Its influence on popular culture is enormous and continues even though the myth is no longer so popular in new generations. In Malaga, there is a park, statue, murals and even a traffic light dedicated to Chiquito. Gum cups and stickers are still sold on collectors’ websites. And the exhibitions, tributes, books, cameos in comics and even in video games are counted in dozens.
Dictatorship, emigration, developmentalism: “Small context”
Chiquito was born in 1932 in Calzada de la Trinidad, a popular and lively neighborhood in Malaga, and died in 2017 in Huelin, an old industrial neighborhood today from the point of view of real estate investors. It is there, in a city that is transformed at the pace set by the Civil War, the post-war period, the dictatorship (with its subsequent development) and democratic opening, where Rogelio López Cuenca wants to place his presentation, titled “Chiquito Contexto”.
“We tend, when talking about any artist, to follow the model of the exegesis of the singular genius. Here, in his particular use of spoken language. But I have long needed to defend a type of cultural history that does not focus on heroes and exploits. “Thinking about culture more as a collective, necessarily social process,” explains López Cuenca (visual artist and 2022 National Fine Arts Prize), who has dedicated a key part of his work to deconstructing the Picasso myth.
Its objective is to expand the focus to the particularities of the use of parody of language, a common resource of silenced groups, with the clear example of Carnival. “There is a rhetoric that the poor notice that is designed to leave you out.” For example, legal language. Chiquito laughs at that.
His life goes through a context. “The very harsh post-war period, the lesson for the popular classes, the repression…”. Even his episode in Japan, the months he spent there on tour, has a meaning that is often overlooked: “It is migration, it is a degrading process. What happens is that since he is a flamenco artist… But it is as if he went to a car factory.” It is the same Chiquito who, in the early hours of the morning in Torremolinos, holds out on the tablao for a while longer in case a young man appears to give him the 5,000 pesetas. At one of those parties he met Carrie Fisher, then at the peak of her career as Princess Leia.
In the end, this life story connects in Malaga with developmentalism, symbolized by the extension of the Alameda crossing El Perchel by throwing away what was there. “I saw the demolition of that neighborhood. When I arrived, it seemed like an Álvarez Quintero farce. It was full of taverns with men spending the day there raving, heirs of that tragic story. Saying nonsense all day, making a parody of incomprehensible language,” recalls López Cuenca. “That physical space disappeared before our eyes, and the touristification process is a continuation of the expropriation that began with the entry of Italian troops in ’37. A mechanism that should be defined as a crime.”
The legacy in Malaga
Chiquito’s legacy lives on in the country, but in Malaga it has a special force. “By then people knew each other.” He could go to the baptism with his flamenco group, and you could meet him in the neighborhood, remembers Moya, who has also directed Staf Magazine since 1995. One of his last interviews was published there: “It was one of our dreams. “We spent two hours talking to him.”
The idea is to extend this cycle for at least a couple more editions. “He is a multifaceted character: singer, flamencologist, comedian, actor. It’s like when you reread a classic or watch a movie again and you rediscover something,” says Medina: “The cycle is no longer for those of us who are fans of Chiquito, which is also true, but to vindicate a character that we believe should remain current. . May it serve so that new generations know it. Just as we claim Picasso for revolutionizing painting, Chiquito does it with humor.”
#Philosophy #vindicate #legacy #Chiquito #icon #transcended #joke
