3º FESTIVAL SUMA FLAMENCA 2008. Vicente Amigo. Universidad Cistercense

3 FESTIVAL SUMA FLAMENCA
de la Comunidad de Madrid

Vicente Amigo

Alcalá de Henares – Universidad Cisterciense – 10:00 pm

Text: Pablo San Nicasio
Photos: Paco Manzano

VICENTE’S “ALCALÁ” BATTERIES

Vicente Amigo is at an important professional moment.  And he must be aware of this, because he’s taking his time to make what will be the sixth solo record of his career.  In the meantime, we continue to savor what his mind and his guitar created more than three years ago.

“Un Momento en el Sonido” was brought to the patio of the University of Alcalá, a perfect setting for this recital which was threatened hours earlier by the unpredictable weather common for this time of year.

Everything came out fin in the end however, and the show went forward as planned, albeit with a slight nip in the air that made Vicente place two radiators on either side of himself to warm his hands.

Even so, the Córdoba guitarist seemed a bit rushed, and it was hard to decipher the notes of the picado he inserted in “Callejón de la Luna” and “Mezquita.  Taranta and soleá in one unified piece that he tends to use to open his recitals.

In the fandangos “Mensaje”, he began to get warmed up, and in  “Campo de la Verdad” we could see he was really feeling good.  Night fell in Alcalá de Henares, the wind abated, and although the guitarist commented that it seemed like a concert “for penguins”, the fact is, everything went great.

From that point on, and with his regular group, with the exception of the bass-player who was new, Vicente went back to tangos with “Arco Bajo”; to “Silia”, which defines his magnificent farruca, to “Momento en el Sonido” por taranta and “Demipatí” por rumba.

The maestro ended with his “Bolero a Marcos” and the original zapateado “Oriente Mediterráneo”.

The bulerías encore allowed Rafael de Utrera to show his stuff with some well-known verses, and also ended the concert that grew from beginning to end in musicality and expression.

Vicente had gotten revved up little by little, and when it was all over, we realized this is one of the greats of the flamenco guitar.

His fans are looking forward to the new recording.  Amigo’s virtuosity is total, he is at an excellent moment in his career, his prestige continues intact and his legion of unconditional admirers are a close-knit group, so we expect the best from this man.

For now, Madrid guitar-lovers have their batteries all charged up for the season.

Special SUMA FLAMENCA 2008. Program, videos, reviews, photos…