“El pregón de los caramelos” by Niño de Elche is a unique and powerful tribute to one of the most fascinating and tragic figures in flamenco history: Macandé.
Macandé (1897–1947), born Francisco Macandé in Cádiz, was a cantaor known for his incredibly deep, dark voice—one of the blackest in flamenco memory. His voice was full of emotion, pain, and rawness, embodying what flamenco calls duende at its most extreme.
Although he created lyrics and styles that many flamenco artists still sing today, Macandé lived most of his life in poverty and was plagued by severe mental health issues. His instability eventually led him to be confined in a psychiatric institution, where he spent his final years isolated and forgotten.
To survive, Macandé sold candies on the streets. As part of his “marketing,” he improvised pregones—musical street cries—based on traditional flamenco forms like saetas, fandangos, and bulerías, singing about the benefits of his sweets.
This wasn’t unusual: in Spain and throughout Latin America, it was common for street vendors’ cries to become local hits, fusing everyday life with musical expression.
Niño de Elche, one of today’s most avant-garde flamenco artists, takes this history and transforms it into something visionary in “El pregón de los caramelos”.
He doesn’t just copy Macandé—he reinvents the spirit of the pregón, mixing it with Cuban tap rhythms, Caribbean peddlers’ cries, and ending with a burst of Colombian neo-cumbia energy.
Throughout the track, Niño de Elche keeps the mischievous, semi-clandestine tone of the original pregoneros: while advertising candies, the street cry also discreetly hints at other merchandise being sold, in a way that’s playful, coded, and full of life.
The result is a musical journey that connects Andalusian flamenco roots with the broader, rebellious spirit of the Caribbean and Latin America—a tribute not only to Macandé’s voice but also to the survival spirit of marginalized communities.
Lyrics:
On Asturias’ way out
And at the mountain’s entrance
I make my candies for me to sell them in Spain
Candies, candies
I sell candies
Candies, candies
I sell candies
I’m going to show you a universal famous trick
Keep ordering, keep ordering
Keep ordering, this is cheap, gentlemen
Don’t be mistreated by the CIA
You won’t have problems with the police
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
Do not be afraid
Oh the cough, oh the cough
Oh the cough, oh the cough
Oh the cough, oh the cough
Oh the cough, oh the cough
Oh the cough
The hoarseness, the gig r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ra
And I tickle, the stream and the itch
Everything is healed sucking, sucking, oh-oh
The Master Don Antonio Chacón
After singing all night long
These pills steered his throat
By Elisa