Text: Estela Zatania
Photos: Paco Sánchez
Soraya Clavijo
Sala La Compañía. 7:00pm
 Dance: Soraya Clavijo.Cante: Londro, Luis Moneo, Manuel Tañé. Guitar: Rafael Rodríguez, Sebastián Carrasco “Chano”.
It must have been the theater. Or the modest means.Or the need for a choreographer. Or a combination of everything, but Soraya Clavijo, the Jerez dancer who made such a fine showing in 2004 in Córdoba when she won the “Carmen Amaya” prize, and very well-deserved, didn’t manage to repeat the success in her hometown. In the program she brought to the Sala La Compañía within the series “Solos en Compañía”, her quietly subtle style was not contrasted with intense details to justify the obvious lack of energy, and it all fell flat. The taranto was promising, and Rafael Rodríguez’ guitar solo kept the interest up. But the dancer lost her audience with an excessively long soleá, bad amplification and a deficient sound from the floor. It’s unfortunate precisely these young people are forced to put up with such difficult circumstances.
La Farruca ‘Gitanas’
Teatro Villamarta. 2100h
Dance: La Farruca, Angelita Vargas, La Faraona, Carmelilla Montoya, Saray de los Reyes. Cante: Juana del Revuelo, Encarnita Anillo, María Vizárraga, Mara Rey.Guitar: José Acedo, Paco Iglesias.
For various reasons, any show that comes from the Farruco family triggers interest that goes beyond their artistic quality, and with a full house, people came prepared to see important goings-on.When the curtain went up, the stage-set was of a tablao or café cantante, depending on your perspective.
The idea of the show is it’s all based on women, singers and dancers, which dovetailed nicely with the overall theme of this year’s Festival de Jerez: women in flamenco.But considering the strong personalities of the men from this dancer dynasty which ever since grandfather Farruco has sustained its fame, it wasn’t an easy recipe to cook up.
The presentation is siguiriyas danced by the five female dancers in a group choreography. It’s an unusual way to begin since by definition, group dances lack spontaneity, precisely the quality that most identifies shows from the Farruco clan.When dancer Saray de los Reyes begins the first solo dance, alegrías, the women all sing together in harmony.This is another pretty effect that effectively triavialized the whole – often (but not always), in order to do pretty things it’s a pact with the devil and the soul gets sacrificed.Saray does Farruquito, with a style that looks more copied than inspired in that darkly intense dancing.
The first dose of great dancing comes from Angelita Vargas with her tientos. At nearly 60, she is beautiful in her maturity, both physically and artistically.With the authenticity that comes only from first-hand experience, Angelita’s dancing reminds you that flamenco dancing in the theater bears little resemblance to what you see in private settings, and machine-gun footwork and barrel turns seem far removed.The warm voice of Mara Rey interprets the tientos, and Juan del Revuelo takes care of the tango ending.Pilar la Faraona joins in for the end, and when we’re only a half-hour into the show, the audience is already applauding to bulerías rhythm.
The down time between numbers is long and dark, supposedly to prepare the various “dressing-rooms” situated at the rear of the stage where we peek on the women getting ready and even beginning to dance.Carmelilla Montoya is a greatly underestimated dancer, possibly due to having spent her best years in the shadow of the family group “Los Montoya” which was so popular during the era of Lole Montoya of “Lole and Manuel”.In soleá to the compás of soleá por bulería, Carmelilla achieves some very fine moments.
Juana del Revuelo does her standard bulerías number triggering excitement when she lets her old-fashioned bloomers show; it’s an uninitiated audience.The voluminous Faraona joins in, and what a shame she’s used for comic relief.There have been other “large” dancers in flamenco who have been taken completely seriously, and this lady, old Farruco’s daughter, deserves to be treated with greater consideration.But the audience falls in love with her, and once again there is rhythmic applause.
And finally, the big moment. Farruca’s dance of soleá starts in her “dressing-room” where one of the singers is helping her get ready.Faraona’s younger sister has bravely taken on the role of matriarch, and she has the same dark intensity of her father...and her son, Farruquito.Now is when you wish there were a more experienced singer, but the spontaneity of a non-choreographed dance is welcome, and the woman’s good instincts flow freely.
A guitar solo, not usually seen in a Farruco family show, breaks the pace, but when a melodic line momentarily recalls Camarón’s “Canastera”, the audience perks up, the lights intensify and the entire group comes on for the lengthy fiesta finale. During the bows, Farruca says some words for her son and thus it all ends, with a mostly positive outcome, but without reaching the heights of former years when the young head of the family was not absent.
Carmen Linares
Bodega Los Apóstoles. 12 midnight
At the Bodega Los Apóstoles, within the series “Café Cantante”, Carmen Linares offered her recital accompanied on the guitar by José Manuel León, and her own son, Eduardo Pacheco, with Ana María and Javier González on palmas.This is a singer who manages to connect with a wide range of concert-goers thanks to her particular vision of cante in which every small detail is served up with mathematical precision, a flamenco machine. Unlike other singers who await the arrival of the duende, Carmen goes out and hunts it down.
She began with a set of cantiñas, followed by abandolao cantes played with a contemporary feel. In the “Milonga del Forastero” and tarantas, Carmen displayed her fine musical sense, and her voice was in better condition than in recent performances. After siguiriyas and bulerías, she dedicated a song to Juan Carlos Romero and Miguel Poveda, and surprised the audience by leaving aside her “flamenco voice” to revert to her own sweet, natural voice.
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