Bust of Tió José de Paula - Jerez de la Frontera - Andalusia

José María Sebastián Soto Vega or Tío José de Paula , as he went down in history, was born in Jerez de la Frontera in 1871.

In 1991, the City Council of Jerez dedicated a bust to him next to the Church of Santiago, work by the sculptor Nuria Guerra from Jerez .

According to the Diccionario Enciclopédico Ilustrado del Flamenco, he was a "very personal interpreter of seguiriyas and soleares, creating very original seguiriyas, as deep and short as they are beautifully aesthetic". These seguiriyas were very popular thanks to artists like Tía Anica La Piriñaca, who performed with him in the cortijos and patios of neighboring houses. In his memory there is a rock that bears his name.

In the last years of his life he sold tobacco and sweets on the street with a small basket .

willem vandenameele