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Text: Estela Zatania
Photos: Paco Sánchez
Andalucía’s national day, and the sixth of the Festival de Jerez. What may end being one of the most memorable moments of the lengthy festival took place unexpectedly at the midday press conference where Jerez singer Manuel Moneo’s new CD was presented. If a new recording of traditional cante is in itself, unfortunately, a rare event these days, the singer’s presence briefly turned the Bodega San Ginés into a gathering of friends enjoying cante, like in the old days. Manuel Moneo decided he wanted to sing por soleá accompanied on the guitar by his grandson Barullito.Suddenly the old barrels piled high in the venerable wine cellar trembled with the powerful voice of one of the very few traditional singers we have left. Like opening a tap, the patriarch of San Miguel opened his mouth and let the memories of 57 years flow freely via his cante, singing his heart out and indirectly defending a kind of flamenco which has a limited presence in this festival, and in the panorama of current flamenco in general.
Mari Ángeles, María Toledo
Palacio de Villavicencio. 7:00pm
The first show of the day was offered in the intimacy of the lovely salon of the Palacio de Villavicencio with two voices from outside Andalusia that are seldom heard within the geographic triangle of the lower Guadalquivir.
Nowadays, the most popular flamenco voices reject the thick rough sound so highly-prized by flamenco fans of a certain age.Young singers of flamenco cultivate a clear, sweet, melismatic approach that recalls singers of times past. In particular, there is a demand for female voices, nearly childlike in their sweetness, the absolute antithesis of Paquera de Jerez o Fernanda de Utrera. In this context, the voice of Mari Ángeles is prototypical of the new milennium, and she is true to her name, “Ángeles”: celestial and angelic, like a little girl about to cry. This singing form is extremely apt for the cante of eastern Andalusia, and in fact, the cante de levante she began with, turned out to be the best part of the recital.
Although the name Mari Ángeles Fernández may not ring bells, that of her father, Tomatito, is known by every flamenco fan, and many outside the art as well.And perhaps this is what led to the pretty twenty-year-old’s premature presentation in public, and recording.Her alegrías with pop song added, and a wide assortment of tangos (from Extremadura, Pastora Pavón, la Repompa, Camarón...) never got off the ground, and her bulerías was a case of “coal to Newcastle” in this land of bulerías.
Dani de Morón, who played for Mari Ángeles, employed a completely up-to-date style with contemporary harmonies and a swiftly gentle touch that was right in keeping with the mood.
At 24, María Toledo is a veteran singer with a dozen or so cante prizes, in addition to important collabobrations with other artists.In the same line of sweet delivery, her voice has an added patina that gives a certain flamenco feel, and each gesture, and each word spoken to the audience completes the portrait of a polished professional anxious to make the big time.She began with an unusual potpourri of Caracol favorites, perhaps aimed at winning over the locals, but few Jerez natives were in attendance.She also sang alegrías and mirabrás, soleá, bulerías and fandangos which again were inspired in Manolo Caracol, and was accompanied on the guitar by Granada guitarist Paco Cortés.
Andrés Peña, Pilar Ogalla “A fuego lento”
Teatro Villamarta. 9.00 pm
Dance: Andrés Peña, Pilar Ogalla. Cante: Luis el Zambo, Luis Moneo, Miguel Rosendo, David Palomar. Guitar: Javier Patino, Alfredo Lagos. Palmas: Javier Catumba, Alfonso Carpio
The discreet but sincere recital of Andrés Peña and his partner Pilar Ogalla could have been presented in the smaller Sala La Compañía where the intimate nature of the show would have come off better.
Duos of a man and woman dancer have been relatively rare in flamenco in recent decades, so these young people’s effort is appreciated. Each moment of “A Fuego Lento”, a show of classic flamenco dancing, shows dedication, seriousness and a true love for their craft, and the solid quartet of singers is a guarantee of credibility.
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Andrés Peña |
The couple opens the show with slow tangos in the Granada style, followed by singer Luis Zambo, the guest artist who ably fills the time between dances. Alfredo Lagos provides the guitar accompaniment for Luis, one of the best-loved and admired singers from Jerez. Aside from the pleasure of his cante, the presence of such a prestigious singer can be read as Andrés Peña’s declaration of respect for tradition. Face to face in the near darkness, their shadows projected onto the rear of the stage, the two maestros of cante and guitar earn repeated applause and shouts of approval.
Young Cádiz singer Miguel Rosendo lends his wonderful rich voice to alegrías for Pilar in a bata de cola who interprets an absolutely traditional choreography. Then Andrés has his solo turn with farruca, not an easy dance to liven up due to its minor key music and the limitations of the associated cante, aggravated in this instance by the excessive length of the choreography.
Luis Moneo completes the Jerez yin-yang, San Miguel and Santiago, with his martinete, and Andrés Peña does siguiriyas with a cane, followed by Pilar’s taranto.Again, both go on too long and this is an apt moment to declare my dislike for dances that last more than about ten minutes with no apparent reason.And while we’re at it, the use of all-black clothing with a black backdrop and very little illumination may be good for a short dramatic effect, but throughout an entire dance it shows a lack of consideration for the audience.
But all these glitches are forgotten with Andrés’ splendid soleá. So superior to all which preceded, you wonder why he was holding back.With just the right combination of influences of Grilo and Farruquito, passed through his own personality, the dancer makes it all work and the audience response is tremendous.
Luis el Zambo rounds out his performance trilogy with bulerías that leads in naturally to the fiesta finale with the complete group.
Manuel Liñán, Olga Pericet & Marco Flores, ‘En clave’
Sala La Compañía. 12 midnight
Dance: Olga Pericet, Manuel Liñán, Marco Flores. Cante: Antonio Campos, Leo Triviño. Guitar: Antonia Jiménez, Arcadio Marín.
Once again we have to protest, the non-advisability of holding dance programs at the Sala La Compañía.The seating distribution in the form of an elongated T (the hall used to be a church), means the amplification is never adequate for the entire audience, and from only a few seats can one see more than the upper part of the dancers.In addition, some groups have complained about the small dimensions of the stage itself.
That said, the well-prepared trio Liñán-Pericet-Flores demonstrated their great ability with an interesting show that would have come off better at the big Villamarta theater. The program synopsis had some interesting words that describe with precision the idea behind the work: “...the on/off system by which we dance to established codes, combined with other signals we establish on the spur of the moment”. Their extensive knowledge of classic flamenco, ably tinged with personality and inventive, take full advantage of the essence of flamenco: rigid forms which, if adhered to, liberate the artist.
But one must be worthy of that liberation, and these young people are.They bring us the novelty of a danced vidalita, an entire dance to cabales as well as dramatically effective side illumination, among other novelties.Marco is a portrait of relaxed elegance at every moment. Olga, sweet and diminutive, with a special gleam in her eyes, and delicate features, inserts details of modern dance she presents with great diplomacy to avoid upsetting unaccustomed observers. Manuel has a devilish sense of humor and an impeccable line he uses to stop and start time at will. The central piece of the recital, the dance that leaves everyone enthralled, is the latter’s soleá, with fragments of an original choreography which in 2004 won first prize at a prestigious competition in Granada.
We’re tired of hearing artists who disguise their angst to triumph and their defective preparation by demanding “Flamenco for the new milennium!”. On this night, at the Sala La Compañía, we were witness to timeless yet contemporary flamenco dance. As stated in the program notes, “flamenco has an existence all its own”.
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