Málaga en Flamenco. PACO DE LUCÍA

Text: Estela Zatania

Second guitar: Niño Josele. Cante: Duquende, La Tana,
Montse Cortés. Percussion: Piraña. Electric bass:
Alaín Pérez. Keyboard, harmonica: Antonio Serrano.

The first edition of the megafestival “Málaga
en Flamenco” lived its most glorious moment just three days
after its inauguration. The palm-trees on stage, and the huge crowds
of people lining up at the entrances announced the coming of the
prince of flamenco guitar, Paco de Lucía.

At half past nine the three thousand seats of the Malagueta were
quickly filling up – a few days earlier local officials were
obliged to expand the seating in the face of massive public demand.
Amazing what six strings tensed on a wooden box can do. Six strings
plus the fingers that make them vibrate. Strings, fingers and a
prodigious mind capable of making those vibrations reach the ears
of hundreds of thousands of people the world over with an audio
message that seduces and fascinates in the name of that magic word:
“flamenco”.

I ask the sailor-hatted usher for a program – Paco has first-class
musicians with him and we must get the names right:

“No program lady”.

“What? I just want to get the names of the musicians”.

“Cositas Buenas”.

Even the glow of stars like Duquende, La Tana, Montse Cortés
and Niño Josele, the three singers and second guitar, is
diminished by the man from Algeciras. No matter, we recognize their
faces and sounds because each one is famous in his or her own right
and has recordings on the market.

Photo: Rafael Manjavacas

The dramatically receding hairline which
seems to hint at the dimensions of the mind therein

I glance up at the stands. With my distance glasses I can see the
faces and take note of something very important: there are individuals
of every age, nationality and walk of life, some dressed to the
nines, others tattooed and crested, a genuine miracle in these flamenco
times. Purity and fusion, tradition and the avant-garde, only the
genius of Paco de Lucía, at 58 one of the few artistic survivors
of nineteen-sixties flamenco, is capable of bringing them all together
in one place drawing enthusiastic applause, over and over…

At ten minutes past ten the stadium lights go out, the smoke machine
belches, the potted palms bend deeply with a sudden gust of wind
and from the silence which abruptly falls, with no presentation
of any kind, there he is. The image that has traveled round the
world, the black vest over the white shirt, the dramatically receding
hairline which seems to hint at the dimensions of the mind therein
– our very own Clint Eastwood, with guitar instead of rifle.
From every corner of the huge bull-ring shouts of “Paco!”
and “You’re the king!” ring out when Paco has
barely played the first notes of the rondeña he opens with.
The limpid, pure sounds flow, a little ‘picado’ triggers
olés and even the full moon appears rapt. The free-form rondeña
turns into bulerías and the excitement revs up several notches
with the final flourish.

The program unfolds as we saw it last month at La Unión,
as it is presented at every stop on this tour. When the guitar sends
out that very flamenco tone that comes from the seventh fret in
A position, it’s time to enjoy the three voices with some
laid-back bulerías. The overall sound is contemporary but
not brash, and at every point the compás is floating on the
surface within reach of every listener. The female voices take turns,
Duquende does Camarón, more bulerías, threads of melody
from previous work, not only of Paco’s but of the singers,
get the fans squealing with delight.

Paco de Lucía & grupo (Photo: Rafael Manjavacas)

At this point in time, one of the most noteworthy aspects of Paco
de Lucía’s guitar-playing, if indeed we must analyze
his genius, is not the technique nor the speed nor the chords borrowed
from jazz – nowadays younger guitarists do astonishing things
– but rather his inspired phrasing, the voice with which he
declares his music and explores the compás. Alegrías
in A position with Niño Josele backing up brings a multitudinous
ovation and gets the audience to their feet, and thus ends the first
part after fifty exciting minutes.

His inspired phrasing, the voice with
which he declares his music and explores the compás…

The second half is mainly devoted to pieces from Paco’s last
recording, “Cositas Buenas”, and bulerías and
tangos are the order of the day. La Tana throws herself into it
with great energy, Montse Cortés seduces with her mysterious
sensuality and Duquende continues to thrill the audience with the
Camarón sound he does so well. Step by step Paco takes us
by the hand and leads us to the land of jazz – he seems determined
to prove he has the power to turn anything into flamenco. The people’s
excitement continues to escalate and some of the more reserved fans
begin to trickle out the exits as the younger set relentlessly chants
in unison “Paaaa-co Paaaa-co…” nearly drowning out
the guitar and voices in some corners of the bull-ring.. People
have their cell phones held high in the air to capture some of the
precious vibrations and send them to friends. We are no longer witnessing
a flamenco guitar recital, but rather a social phenomenon, and it
all dissolves into “Yo vivo enamorao y para mí tus
besos…”, and the obligatory “Entre dos Aguas”
which thirty-two years after turning Paco de Lucía into an
international superstar, produces such a reaction in the crowd that
the very ground of the old Málaga bull-ring was felt to shudder.

Paco de Lucía 'Cositas buenas'

Integral de Paco de Lucía

Paco de Lucía 'Antología' 2 CD + 1 DVD

La Tana 'Tu ven a mí0

Montse Cortés 'La Rosa blanca'

More information:

'Málaga
en Flamenco' Special