Text: Rubén Gutierrez
photos: Málaga en Flamenco

Flamenco concert guitar: Tomatito. Second guitar: Cristóbal Santiago. Cante and palmas: Mary Ángeles Fernández, La Tana, Potito, Juan José Amador Jr., Morenito de Illora. Violin: Bernardo Parrilla. Percussion: Lucky Losada. Dance: José Maya.

 Another new series of performances got under way at Málaga en Flamenco, this one paying tribute to the maestro Paco de Lucía, and the chosen place was worthy of the man from Algeciras. The backdrop was the Mare Nostrum, the blue Mediterranean that Phoenecians, Greeks and Romans plowed to reach this coastline. The calm sea, like a pond, and the seats set out upon the sandy beach of el Palo. The famous roasted sardines were substituted by shrimp, “camarones”, reminding us of José Monge Cruz, “Camarón de la Isla”.

At barely 12, Tomatito went to live in Málaga, and thanks to Pedro Blanco he began the apprenticeship that would eventually lead to turning him into one of the most solid guitarrists of the international scene. Not only of flamenco lives Tomatito, who started out at the mythical Taberna Gitana. He has also surrounded himself with great musicians like Michel Camilo, Chick Corea, Argentine Luis Salinas or George Benson, whom he met at the famous Blue Note in New York. All that experience comes out on stage in technique and polish. His picado is swift and clean, both going up, and going down, his tremolos and arpeggios are beyond the realm of flamenco, and he’s still the king of alzapúa.

He starts out with alegrías, as is his custom recently, and this brings the first glimpse of dance from Madrid bailaor José Maya. The nephew of Fernanda Romero is gradually carving out his place in this group; gypsy guitar-playing and singing need a dance style to match. Tomatito is then alone on stage to interpret a minera as we observe the surface of the blue Mediterranean, the sailboats, even an overhead recreational craft whose occupant tries to follow the recital from on high, right next to Camarón. With the atmosphere warmed-up, Tomatito dove headfirst into bulerías, triggering the first oles, but there was much more yet to come.

Tomatito

José Maya

A medley of Camarón’s tangos and bulerías sends chills through many spines

His daughter Mary Ángeles delights us with her sweet voice in an Argentine tango with the addition of another great interpreter, violinist Bernardo Parrilla; the Jerez musician makes his instrument weep. Tomatito keeps committing astonishing feats with this guitar, and if you add to this the extraordinary Potito, who could ask for more?Well yes, there was more, the dancing of José Maya, who combines Farruquito’s gypsy approach with movements of classical ballet, which he has also studied, although he somewhat overdoes acrobatics more appropriate to martial arts.

A short intermission lets us keep enjoying the surroundings, and this leads to one of the most moving moments of this festival. The Diputación de Málaga has spared no cost in making this Bienal a world-class flamenco reference, and they’ve achieved the goal. I was too young to ever have seen Camarón live, but his best-known songs sounded out loud and clear on the beach of el Palo. The artists are dressed so informally, the whole thing feels like a beach party as they go through a medley of tangos and bulerías which sends chills through many spines. Morenito, Amador, Potito, Mary Ángeles and guest artist La Tana heat up the atmosphere singing Camarón, and Tomatito is visibly moved. The short verses of each singer, as well as the choruses, conjure up the most universal of all gyspies, an artist Tomatito knows well, having been Camarón’s accompanist from the age of fifteen when he was summoned here to Málaga to substitute for Ramón de Algeciras. Since that moment, and up until the singer’s untimely death, Tomatito’s guitar was immortalized in seven recordings with the singer along with Paco de Lucía from whom he says he learned a great deal. And all the while a beautiful full moon is shining upon the limpid surface of the Mediterranean.

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MÁLAGA EN FLAMENCO '07 All the information