Voice and guitar : Mayte Martín. Guitar: José Luis Montón. Bass: Guillermo Prats. Violín: Olvido Lanza. Percussion : Chico Fargas. Aforo: Lleno

Juan Vergillos
photos: Paco Sánchez

Songs of lonliness and the wind

Irony, and a sense of humor is what saves Alcántara’s poetry from melancholy. Or maybe it’s melancholy that saves it from cleverness. Mayte Martín went in the direction of melancholy, often in the amorous vein, in her adaptation of a string of verses by the Málaga poet. By the Guadalhorce reservoir in Ardales, an afternoon of lonliness and the wind. The wind howling strongly through the tops of the lonely trees. To such an extent that at one point it seemed the concert would have to be suspended. But such was not the case. Mayte Martín’s adaptation takes the sentimental part of Alcántara to bring it to her own territory, that of her melancholic love songs. All the melodies seem to be from the same family, usually with a descending progression to bolero, with the exception of a tango dedicated to a poem in memory of Altolaguirre. There are other tributes as well, such as that to Miguel Hernández, and the anonymous subjects of verses by the author.

Mayte Martin

Mayte Martin

I wasn’t prepared for this. I thought Mayte would sing Alcántara’s verse in traditional flamenco forms. I arrived at the place lost in the surprising natural ferocious beauty of the scenery. And lost, bewildered, I followed the pure poetry, pure melody, and tears rolled down my face. “I always have a little time to sing of love”, the testimony of our sentimental modesty. Or the testimony of the dead, “dead people don’t know one another”. Mayte Martín seduced the audience, as always. With her music. With her voice, her beautiful phrasing. With her honesty (the poet is a poser said Pessoa). With her friendly personality too. Even with the excess of sugar coating in the original melodies and in the violin and percussion.

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