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He wasn’t much in the mood for talking, but his sense of humor
was intact: «Ask whatever you want, and I’ll answer, and if
not, we sit here staring at each other». He commented on the documentary
directed by José Sánchez-Montes, the creative process involved
and the various artistic collaborations. Pat Metheny, Ute Lemper, Estrella
Morente, Israel Galván, Tomatito, Blanca Li, Khaled, Juan Habichuela
among others all strolled through the Alhambra with the maestro in a filmed
visit, with music by Enrique Morente.
During the course of the presentation we had the opportunity to see a
preview of the film, which for all practical purposes is the best video
to date of that part of the complex known as the «Generalife»,
and the best music possible to create the right mood for the Alhambra.
In the video we can see dancer Israel Galván along with Blanca
Li, walking leisurely between fountains and picturesque corners of the
Generalife, Estrella Morente perusing the royal baths, and Tomatito…and
of course, the host himself, the «Ronco del Albaizín»
as Morente is known, who has his house right in front of the Alhambra,
near the San Nicolás overlook. What better guide through the Alhambra
than Enrique Morente himself?…a dream come true.
The filmmaker proposed to Morente the possibility of making a documentary
about his life and career, a task the singer wasn’t comfortable
with «because it would come down to an unseemly list of honors».
The dilemma was solved by incorporating the Alhambra in the project. The
record was produced by Enrique Morente, although he admits «when
I’m not doing the directing, everything seems to come out better»
and he had the help of Isidro Muñoz for the piece «Donde
habite el olvido» which turned out to be quite difficult.
The film premieres on October 24th at the Heineken Green Space in Valencia
and we expect to be able to see it shortly afterwards at major movie theaters.
On October 28, at the same venue, the singer is scheduled to perform with
the American group Sonic Youth.
In «Morente sueña la Alhambra» there are also literary
texts: María Zambrano, Luis Cernuda, Horacio Ferrer and Astor Piazzola
in the «Chiquilín de Bachín» and the piece which
closes the record, «La última carta» by Miguel de Cervantes
written shortly before the author’s death.
After the presentation, Enrique took the stage of the Casa Encendida
and interpreted «Chiquilín de Bachín» with the
guitar accompaniment of Niño Josele with the palmas of Antonio
Carbonell and Angel Gabarre, thoroughly delightful. With the maestro’s
new record, we look forward to seeing the movie which will surely be seen
the world over.
Text & photos: Rafael Manjavacas
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