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XLVII Festival Internacional
del Cante de las Minas.
Gala Homenaje a Chano Lobato
Tuesday, August 6,
2007. 2300h.
La Unión - © DeFlamenco. com
Text: Estela Zatania
Photos: Rafael Manjavacas
 A memorable day for a great man. Juan Ramírez Sarabia, our one and only Chano Lobato (Cádiz, 1927), one of the most beloved flamenco singers of our time, is the center of this edition of the La Unión festival, and on Tuesday, corresponding official acts were carried out. In the afternoon, the maestro attended the presentation of a book written in his honor with texts by Matilde Coral, José Manuel Gamboa, Fermín Lobatón, Jaime Luque, Miguel Mora, Antonio Parra, Juan José Téllez and Jesús Vigorra. After formalities on the part of the mayor, Chano regaled those present with his stories, ending on a serious note when he spoke to the younger generation: “do what you have to do in flamenco, but always respectfully”.
Later on at the theater a series of artists performed in honor of the man from Cádiz, including Chano himself, as just another member of the cast. Esperanza Fernández, with the accompaniment of Granada guitarist Miguel Ángel Cortés, served up the same repertoire she’s been offering lately: abandolao cante (with the characteristic compás so close to that of Lebrija where the singer has family ties), farruca, siguiriya that the guitarist plays artfully with alternative tuning, alegrías, tangos de Triana and bulerías.
The compás, the gentle but biting humor, the twinkle in his eyes, the wisdom and the Cádiz identity are all firmly in place
Esperanza Fernández |
Chano Lobato |
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Chano with Antonio Carrión, the guitarist preferred by classic singers, offered their mini recital. As always happens, Chano arrives on stage with a shuffling gait and hanging on someone’s arm, but in the end he goes out dancing, literally, it’s increible how performance infuses strength in him and the years peel away. Tangos, anecdotes, soleá. His crazy quilt of song fragments to bulerías compás is a master class for many young singers who interpret whole songs without understanding that a song in bulerías compás, will always be “a song”, but to sing “bulerías” requires the tasteful mixing of traditional short bulerías, fragments of song borrowed here and there, perhaps an original chorus, etc... a collection of independent musical haikus that come together in the compás of bulería as each singer sees fit; it’s a very flamenco skill, nearly forgotten. Chano is not in the best health, but the compás, the gentle but biting humor, the twinkle in his eyes, the knowledge and the Cádiz identity are all firmly in place, and that’s more than enough.
A personality all his own, even when he most sounds like Caracol
Córdoba singer Juan Moreno Maya “El Pele” offered the most moving moments of the lengthy show. Like all artists who work on sheer inspiration, he’s irregular, with pronounced highs and lows. Personally, I’m willing to put up with mediocre performances in this type of singer in order to enjoy his magnificent high points, and at La Unión we struck the jackpot. Starting out with malagueña, the debt to Caracol is obvious. It’s a good moment to point out that, with very few exceptions, it is unfair and absurd to chalk off any singer as a mere imitator. The only difference between one who sounds like Caracol and one who does not, is that the latter learned from someone less famous you never heard sing. Over the years you develop your own personality, and Pele has his in great big capital letters, even when he most sounds like Caracol. With siguiriyas, the singer manages to find that degree of involvement flamenco fans are always patiently awaiting. Pele’s psychic agitation and his furrowed brow come across as absolutely authentic, it’s as if he enters into trance, his face is an ode to suffering and his whole body trembles visibly. Afterwards, with his son on cajón, he unwinds with some “alegrías”, which are actually “original cantiñas”. Throughout his career, this singer has contributed at least two “cantiñas” that have become classics and are interpreted by traditional singers; in recent decades, only Camarón has pulled off a comparable feat. The audience demands an encore which takes shape in the form of fandangos, bulerías and tonás to wrap up the first part.
Manuel Liñan |
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Young Granada dancer Manuel Liñán, and veteran Jerez singer Capullo fill the second half with their respective recitals. Liñán’s long career, when he’s only thirty-something, reveals his original artistic personality and ability to fascinate theater-goers with the movements of his body. While basing his work on classic maestros from his hometown, like Mario Maya or Manolete, his taste for experimentation indicates he is a product of his times, and of the current well-populated generation of flamenco dancers. He manages his successful collaboration with Marco Flores and Olga Pericet simulataneously with solo work in which his polished technique, imagination, power, compás, good taste and sensitivity are noteworthy. With the voices of Antonio Campos and Leo Treviño, and the guitars of Arcadio Marín and Antonio Martínez, he danced taranto with a tango ending reminiscent of Granada, and soleá.
It’s three in the morning when the stage of the Cathedral of Cante fills with the group and charisma of Miguel Flores “Capullo de Jerez” with Manuel “Jerito” on guitar and Luis and Ali de la Tota providing compás. The big Capu show never varies and is never quite the same, I don’t know how he does it. Soleá por bulería, fandangos, tangos, bulerías... La Unión isn’t Jerez, but this singer has his followers in these parts and it’s not the first time he’s come to the festival. Nevertheless, the late hour is responsible for the slow but constant emptying of seats and the night ends discreetly, winding up the program of scheduled shows which tomorrow gives way to the first day of semifinals in the cante, guitar and dance contests. |
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