José Pérez de Guzmán

José Pérez de Guzmán Urzaiz (1891 – 18 April 1930) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Recreativo de Huelva and Madrid FC in the early 20th century. He is also known for being considered the creator of a new type of fandango whose purpose is not for dancing, as it is typically meant to, but rather for listening.

Early and personal life Pérez de Guzmán (standing, first from right) with his family around 1913. José Pérez de Guzmán was born in the Extremaduran municipality of Jerez de los Caballeros in 1891, as the third son of Manuel Pérez de Guzmán, a landowner, and Maria Teresa de Urzáiz, a native of Moguer.

Pérez de Guzmán married Dolores Molina Alvarez, and the couple had no children. When his father became the vice president of Recreativo de Huelva in 1906, he had four of his sons playing for the club, including José, aged 15.

In May 1909, three Recreativo players, José, his older brother Francisco, and Antonio Tellechea, traveled from Huelva to Extremadura, at the request of the recently created CD Badajoz, to reinforce the club in its first-ever match. A few months later, Madrid FC made the same request, taking advantage of the fact that three of the Pérez de Guzmán brothers (Francisco, José, and Luis) were studying for their university degrees in the Spanish capital, and thus, all of them ended up playing on loan in the ranks of the Madrid FC. These were the only two official matches that José played for Madrid. During the first half of the 1910s, he helped Recreativo win three unofficial Andalusian Championship, which Recreativo itself organized, and the Copa Centenario de las Cortes de Cádiz in 1912. Outside football, he also enjoyed horses and bullfighting, and at one point, he even wanted to be a bullfighter.

According to flamenco researcher Juan Gómez Hiraldo, Pérez de Guzmán incorporated melodic elements from other singers into his style, contributing to the development and distinctiveness of his fandango.

Death In 1927, Guzmán contracted the then-incurable disease of tuberculosis, which had already claimed the lives of his brother Joaquín in 1927, when he was only 27 years old.

Honours Recreativo de Huelva Andalusian Championship: Champions (3): 1910, 1911, and 1912

Copa Centenario de las Cortes de Cádiz Champions (1): 1912