22nd Internacional Contest of Flamenco Guitar Soloists

Friday, December 10th, 2004. 9:00pm.
Teatro Villamarta, Jerez de la Frontera.

Text & photos: Estela
Zatania

The evening prior to the selection of finalists for
the 22nd edition of the Certamen Internacional de Guitarra
Flamenca de Concierto, the organizing flamenco peña,
Los Cernícalos, in Jerez de la Frontera, was the intimate
setting where Jerez guitarist Gerardo Núñez,
recently awarded the Premio Demófilo for most noteworthy
flamenco event of the year, in this case the guitarist’s
performance with the program of the Bienal de Flamenco de
Sevilla, delighted hometown fans.

Gerardo Núñez

How does a guitar soloist with his varnished wooden box and
six tensed strings get to receive such an extravagant prize,
beating out singers, dancers, whole corps de ballet and Hollywood-style
shows with budgets to match? The night of Thursday December
9th, Gerardo Núñez eloquently answered that
question, guitar in hand, with extraordinary technical control,
unequalled compositional and musical sense and the self-confidence
and integrity of a man who knows exactly what he wants to
do with his instrument, and how to do it. Among other technical
feats, the attack of his tremolo, a technique normally reserved
for dreamy-sweet moments, was applied with the power of three
or four synchronized thumbs.

A man who knows exactly what
he wants to do with his instrument, and how to do it

Nevertheless, the equation “Gerardo has played for
great singers + he is today’s greatest genius of the
guitar = flamenco” still doesn’t compute. A farruca
turns out to be free-form, with hardly any concessions to
the characteristic minor key that makes this form different
from the rest of the flamenco repertoire, but with a wink
at the end in the form of the “escalera” picado
of a standard farruca. As for the rest, the customary accompaniment
of Pablo Martín’s bass and Cepillo’s percussion
landed us squarely in jazz territory with pieces from Gerardo’s
past recordings, with bulerías shining through occasionally
– this man’s talent is too large to be limited
to flamenco. For the closing, straight-ahead traditional bulerías
with Niño Jero, Juan Diego and Jesús Méndez
doing palmas confirmed that flamenco is still what a group
of flamenco-lovers most react to.

Serranito habla con el ganador	Antonio Rey

The following morning six finalists were chosen from the
twelve semifinalists, including three from Córdoba,
Gabriel Expósito, Eduardo Trassierra and Severiano
Jiménez, two from Jerez, Antonio Rey and Santiago Lara,
and from San Fernando, Jesús Guerrero, to vie for the
six cash prizes ranging from 500 to 6000 euros. To insure
a fair distribution of glory and euros, jury members included
outstanding figures such as Victor Monje ‘Serranito’,
Gerardo Núñez, Manolo Franco, Oscar Herrero
and Pepe Justicia.

Enthusiastic Pac-men gobbling
up the guitar…one better than the next, and no clear
winner

The contest was dedicated to guitar teachers, and the three
first prizes bore the names of Javier Molina, Rafael del Águila
and Sebastián Núñez, but emcee Pepe Martín
reminded us that another great maestro, Manuel Fernández
Molina “Parrilla de Jerez” is currently in the
hospital in critical condition. On the program we read that
it’s the organizers’ aim to “promote concert
flamenco and give a boost to young guitarists”, and
true enough, the six finalists are extraordinary musicians,
one better than the next, and no clear winner.

Cuadro de Excepción

The lengthy event began with a group of eleven young Jerez
performers of the group Semilla Flamenca, followed by a marathon
of 18 guitar solos, three per contestant chosen from each
of three categories. The high technical level of flamenco
guitar today continues to be astonishing and these young guitarists
are enthusiastic Pac-men gobbling up the guitar, making use
of all the latest chords, picado runs like machine-guns and
alternative tunings popularized by Gerardo Núñez.
One misses a flamenco feeling however, not to mention a more
user-friendly compás so that veteran flamenco-lovers
don’t have to ask one another “what was that he
just played?”

Another local group, “Jerez por Bandera” does
time for close to an hour while the panel of judges deliberates,
and finally we have a winner: the Javier Molina prize and
6000 euros went to young Antonio Rey from Jerez who played
creative and inspired interpretations of taranta, soleá
and bulerías that also earned him the Bordón
Minero at the 2003 Festival de La Unión. Second prize
went to Eduardo Trassierra, third, Santiago Lara, fourth,
Severiano Flores, fifth, Gabriel Expósito and sixth,
Jesúes Guerrero.

And so concluded this contest which in earlier years gave
a boost to future stars such as Moraíto, Niño
de Pura, Rafael Riqueni, José Luis Rodríguez,
Juan Carlos Romero, Juan Manuel Cañizares and el Niño
Miguel among many others. Begun 33 years ago, after a long
hiatus it is now becoming one of the most important events
of flamenco guitar. A CD and DVD with the eighteen pieces
played in the finals is to be released by the Centro Andaluz
de Flamenco.

Más información:

Gerardo Núñez –
Bienal de Flamenco (Seville)

Interview
with Gerardo Núñez