Cajasol 175th Anniversary Commemorative Gala. Arcángel, Pansequito, Israel Galván.

1st performance: Arcángel (Cante), Miguel Ángel Cortés (Guitar); 2nd performance: Pansequito (Cante), Moraito (Guitar); 3rd performance: Israel Galván (Dance), Juan José Amador and David Lagos (Cante), Pedro Sierra (Guitar).

Text: Gonzalo Montaño Peña
Photos: Remedios Málvarez

The Cajasol Cultural Center once again brings us the most up-to-date flamenco, as well as the most classic.  All wrapped up in a gala performance that stirred a great deal of interest, perhaps because Sevilla is anxious to enjoy the best shows of the current scene, but also because three top flamenco artists were brought together.  Three visions, three ways of understanding the same heritage.

With a rather austere stage set, Arcángel came on, sat down and searched internally for the tone to open with toná and debla.  The Huelva singer knew this was an important performance, and clearly wanted to shine – he started in a tone that pushed the limits of his possibilities, but twisting and turning in his seat, managed to come out on top.  The audience cheered and things were looking frankly good.

Miguel Ángel Cortés appeared on stage to accompany the voice, and the communication between the two was clear in caña and polo.  Arcángel was still trying hard, but he didn’t reach the heights of the first cante.  Signals made to the technician to raise the volume of the monitor appear not to be heeded.  Tangos extremeños in the version of Arcángel move among controlled sharps, while also seeking out a restrained half-voice that sounded all the sweeter.  Cortés’ guitar played the same game with a variety of registers.  Nevertheless, the singer complained he had trouble hearing.  His distraction was already noticeable in the second cante when the intensity was decreased a bit.

After alegrías, once again employing his characteristic half-voice, we moved on to fandangos de Huelva where Arcángel could sing freely, lengthening the lines and exhibiting his virtuosity.  He sang about his town, and the audience seemed to identify with him.  When he took his final bow, he knew the results could have been much better.

After Arcángel’s exuberant youth came the masterful Pansequito, who earlier in the day had presented his new recording, “Un Canto a la Lilbertad”.  So we were expecting to hear some of it live.  With Moraíto on guitar, he chose to sing classic cante.

Beginning with alegrías, Antonio Cortés proved he’s a real maestro.  He sways with the melody the way small boats sway by the shore, and his voice is gypsy-sounding and rich in melisma.  As occurred with Arcángel, the beginning seemed to promise great things, but problems soon arose and the singer seemed not to feel very at ease with the amplification.

“Panseco” continued with solea, another form where he shows he is a master with his particular way of lengthening the lines, redoubling them as much as possible before letting them resolve.  And yet he still isn’t quite the singer we all know and love.

Looking for a graceful way out, the duo of Pansequito and Moraíto get into bulerías knowing that few can beat their great sound and flavor.  Beginning with short styles, they got into cuplé, more than ten minutes that raised the temperature of the house and caused the audience to send them off with thunderous applause.

The stage is transformed to receive Israel Galván who is accompanied by David Lagos and Juan José Amador on cante, and Pedro Sierra on guitar.

Lagos begins singing fandangos de Huelva to him with no musical accompaniment, and the dancer responds to each of the singer’s lines like a guitar, but using his feet, hands and even teeth.  Amador sings another fandango, and Galván responds.  This dancer has managed to make his entire body a percussive instrument with which to accompany cante with impressive rhythmic phrases.

In solea he again exhibits his novel expressive language, but more importantly, the audience seems to have come to understand his style which not so long ago was berated by critics and flamenco fans.

In the cante of tonás, a serious dry cante to begin with, he continues the dialogue with the singer, phrase by phrase.  Galván shows he has a great sense of humor with impossible poses.  The audience is rapt, and the applause is warm and unanimous.  Seville is definitely at Israel’s feet.

With his shirt completely soaked in sweat, the dancer turns toward David Lagos so the latter can sing tientos for him.  The cante continues to be serious, which is exactly what the dancer wants, but what he expresses is the antithesis of seriousness.  Or perhaps a kind of surreal seriousness expressed via poses, such as when he passes his hand behind his head to pull back one eyelid as if he were saying “take a good look”.  Between these avant-garde poses he adds closings with arms in the classic mold where you can see his underlying gypsy aesthetic.

Singer Juan José Amador continues this magnificent flamenco dialogue with tangos.  Pedro Sierra’s accompaniment is outstanding, and his technique impressive – undoubtedly one of the best flamenco or non-flamenco guitarists in Spain, and he demonstrates it both accompanying and in concert performances.

Bulerías at lightning speed, the way it was done decades ago, and the dancer incorporates poses that go from dreamlike to flamenco to bull-fighting.

The audience gave a standing ovation and expected a bulerías finale which did not materialize after the two and a half hours of the best singing, guitar and dance to celebrate the 175th birthday of the banking firm that sponsored the show, thus opening our appetite for the Jueves Flamencos series.