Ángel Sampedro Montero (12 January 1908 in Vallecas, Madrid- 24 November 1973 in Buenos Aires, Argentina), better known as Angelillo, was a Spanish singer of popular songs in his time. He has been described as a "popular idol of the flamenco copla",[1] a very particular style of flamenco, along with fandangos, soleares, saetas, caracoles and tarantas etc. He was also one of the earliest singers to sing in a forced falsetto in flamenco.[2] He was also an actor in musical films of Andalusian folklore: He appeared in films such as La hija de Juan Simón (1935) and Suspiros de Triana (1955), becoming a film star for Filmófono and working with esteemed directors such as Luis Buñuel, which led to him being nicknamed “the nightingale of Andalusia”.[3]
Angelillo was one of the most outspoken advocates of the Republic, with communist ideologies.[4] He fled to Oran and from there, accompanied by Sabicas, to Argentina, where he quickly gained immense popularity. He returned to Spain in the 1950s.