Artefyl brings you the self-portrait of:

“Along coral reefs, but always dancing”

by Manuel Moraga

Dressed for her first communion

I was raised in the Rastro neighborhood. When I was a little girl, on the holiday of the Paloma my mother took me down to La Quica’s dance school and said: “look how great my daughter can dance”. They sang the song about the “duros antiguos”, I went out in the dress from my first communion which my mother had altered, and Quica asked me “why don’t you come by here?”. But there wasn’t any money to pay the dance school, so they took me on to run errands. I saw her dance alegrías with a bata de cola and thought “that’s what I want to do the rest of my life”. I ended up sleeping in the school with a chair and a mattress. I mopped the floors and did everything. One day Quica broke her ankle and I offered to help her give the classes. I knew her whole repertoire: bolero, Albéniz, the Bretón zapateado and Sarasate, everything. And that’s what I did.

I never decided that I had to be a bailaora, among other things, because I didn’t know what a bailaora was. But I had to be in the profession somehow, and what better way than doing something I more or less knew something about and which was my obsession, because I can’t imagine Tati any other way except dancing... Along coral reefs, but always dancing...

Teaching how to teach

I always say la Quica taught me, but I never actually took a class in my life. What she really taught me was how to teach. There are some very good artists, but not everyone has the preparation or the right personality to teach. When I started teaching I realized Quica had really taught me to teach. She had a lot of discipline, she was a great teacher with a very big heart. It’s thanks to her that I am where I am, not to mention the many plates of food she gave me.

Apprentice seamstress and dancer, the chair and Cascorro

Since there was no money, I had to leave Quica’s school to work as a seamstress, until one day Quica sent her daughter to get me because she was sure they would hire me at Zambra where they held auditions every year. Those were the years of Rosa Durán, Perico el del Lunar, Manolo Vargas, el Gallina... I auditioned with El Tupé, since he was very small we were a good match. And they took me. I used the first paycheck to buy a chair for the maestro of the tailor’s shop and I burned it by Cascorro saying “I’m not a seamstress any more, I’m a flamenco dancer by the grace of God until the day I die”.

Being still is harder than dancing.

I’ve had the good fortune of working with the best dancers: Trini España, Matilde Coral, Rosa Durán.... I saw Rosario, Pilar, I partnered Mario Maya, el Güito, Manolete... They were maestros and we all learned, day by day. But thinking back, what really got me dancing was the cante. I’m a dancer who literally dances to the cante. My all-time favorites are Terremoto, El Serna, Caracol... I was lucky enough that while still a child, I was rubbing shoulders with those people, and just listening to them made you feel like dancing. If you really listen to the cante, it tells you when to close, when to do certain steps, when to do everything. Then technique is something else: good footwork, getting the sound out, shading, but flamenco dance really depends on the cante. Brecht said that physical expression is as important as the text, and it’s true. Flamenco has powerful possibilities and young dancers have to be cured of the complex that if you’re not banging the floor the whole time you’re not doing anything. Standing still for two seconds on stage is more difficult than dancing.

Courage

Right now my main goal is to organize “Madre Coraje”. It’s going to take a lot of work because I had problems with the managera and now I have to begin all over again from scratch, with new staff and lighting, and then to sell it. I’m hoping to set up a small office and see how it goes. But the most immediate project is a show called “Relumbre, Rojo Robre Morado” which is a geographic tour of the cantes. We start out in the Atlantic ocean, go up to Linares, the Mediterranean and end up back at the beginning, in the Atlantic. We see the difference between the Arabs, the Jews... that’s the general idea. I’m hoping to present the premiere at the 1st Festival Mundial de Flamenco in San Luis de Potosí.

A life, a history of flamenco...

I don’t have one specific dream, but a bunch... But something very important is being able to leave everything I’ve gathered throughout my life for young people. I have a very large collection of tapes, photos...lots of history. I don’t know whether the thing is to set up a foundation or some such thing. Not for the sake of glory: I’ve got enough to eat and a roof that doesn’t leak. Today, if you were to mention Vicente Escudero, or even me, you’d be surprised, there are young artists who’ve never seen me dance. My dream would be to be able to offer everything I have and give it freely.

The art of gratitude

I’m always looking back over my shoulder because I can never forget those people who’ve helped me and who made my artistic and personal life flourish. Thanks to dancing I’ve brought up two children and I have two grandchildren. My life is linked to flamenco. Flamenco is in my skin and in my DNA.

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