Patricia Guerrero «Catedral» – Festival de Jerez

Text: Estela Zatania
Photos: Ana Palma

21 FESTIVAL DE JEREZ
Monday, February 27th, 2017. Jerez de la Frontera

Special 21 Festival de Jerez – All the information

IN THE NAME OF ALL WOMEN…AMEN

Dance: Patricia Guerrero. Corps de ballet: Maise Márquez, Ana Agraz, Mónica Iglesias. Voices: Diego Pérez, Daniel Pérez. Cante: José Ángel Carmona. Guitar: Juan Requena. Percussion: Agustín Diassera, Paco Vega. Stage director: Juan Dolores Caballero. Choreography: Patricia Guerrero. Music composition: Juan Requena, Agustín Diassera. (video)

Photo Gallery by Ana Palma

At the 2017 Festival de Jerez, for the second consecutive day, a Granada dancer interpreted a work centered on religion.  On Sunday, it was La Moneta in a tribute to Saint Theresa, and last night, Monday, at the Villamarta theater, Patricia Guerrero laid out her concept of what the church means to a woman of the new millennium.

The feminist underpinnings rely on a register worthy of Lorca to underline the difficult traditional role of Catholic women.  The church, not as refuge, but a mental prison for women, constructed by men: the unbearable burden of having to fulfill overly strict norms.  The premise is not lacking in interest, and is successfully carried out with the help of  the dancer’s evolving wardrobe and hair-do throughout the work.  But as tends to happen with this type of show, there is an intense struggle between good theater and good flamenco, and as is also customary, the former takes precedence over the latter.  In the last edition of the Bienal de Sevilla, “Catedral” won the Giraldillo for Best Show.

The Gregorian sounds are not a reference to the well-known flamenco malagueñas, but rather inhabit their traditional place, which is the “catedral” of the title.  Young but experienced maestros Juan Requena on guitar, and José Ángel Carmona on cante, provide the most flamenco moments with old romances, tangos and siguiriyas.  The tenor and counter-tenor, Diego and Daniel Pérez, provide the corresponding mystery with a harmonic patina suggestive of a specific era and place, and emit frightening gibberish to represent the demons thrown off by the dancer at the end of the work.  Patricia Guerrero, a magnificent dancer, is inspired, expressive and daring in this dark and difficult work that doesn’t manage to satisfy as flamenco.

 

JOSÉ DE LOS CAMARONES, MANUEL FERNÁNDEZ “EL BORRICO”

Palacio Villavicencio, 7:00pm

At seven in the evening at the Palacio Villavicencio, a venue reserved for unplugged performances, two singers shared a recital.  José de los Camarones, a veteran in the most positive sense of the word, a Jerez man with his own personality, accompanied by Manuel Heredia on guitar, sang martinete, malagueña with abandolao, soleá de Triana and siguiriyas for a recital that barely lasted 20 minutes…short and sweet.     (video)

He was followed by Manuel Fernández “El Borrico”, grandson of the beloved singer of the same name, who was reminiscent of his grandfather while offering his own versions of martinete, siguiriyas, tientos and some very Borrico-like bulerias, with the guitar of Antonio Jero…and no palmeros…for which we were grateful in the intimacy of this small venue.  (video)

Photo gallery by Ana Palma

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