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All Reviews 44th Festival
Sunday’s activities at La Unión began
at 8:30pm at the Mining Museum with the conference given by
writer Francisco Gutiérrez Carbajo titled “La
copla popular y flamenca: Enrique Morente”, and we just
barely made it to the theater on time for the five-star program
that easily filled the one thousand two-hundred seats of the
Cathedral of Cante.
Capullo reinvents himself every
morning when he gets up
A blast of Jerez compás and the personality of el
Capullo de Jerez put things in order from the first moment:
“This here’s my first time in La Unión
and they told me it’s like very important”…well…yes,
but don’t you worry, just do what you know how to do
so well and everything will be fine. And sure enough, he got
the audience in the palm of his hand from the first cante,
in this case soleá por bulería including some
soleá and several cantes of his own, because this form
born in the after-hours taverns of Jerez allows a great deal
of leeway. Some original fandangos…the thing is, Capullo
reinvents himself every morning when he gets up…tasty
tangos with his unmistakable phrasing, and we see a Diego
Amaya miraculously transformed, accompanying this repertoire
which could be described as “pop” in the best
sense of the word, as if he had never played any other way.
One verse dedicated to the victims of a recent terrorist attack
ends with the chorus “lucha por la libertad” [‘fight
for freedom’] inspiring an emotional and heartfelt applause.
More bulerías improvisation, “en La Unión
me veo”, and this instinctive, charismatic bohemian,
more flamenco than flamenco itself, leaves the stage to make
way for flamenco’s grand chanteuse.
Even the tight bun into which
she sculpts her hair is a poem of elegance and tradition
Carmen Linares is diametrically opposed to Capullo in every
way. Everything in its place with great attention to detail
– even the tight bun into which she sculpts her hair
is a poem of elegance and tradition. There was a time when
Carmen was into the Camarón sound, but now all that’s
left is the occasional vocal ‘portamento’, the
sliding between notes which gives a momentary Arabic touch.
Malagueña and rondeña, cantiña and romera
(actually alegrías of Pinini) to open. Lovely and serene
in chocolate-colored velvet, the singer continued with soleá
adding the occasional original song here and there as if it
were bulerías, but all well-constructed musically.
The futuristic guitar-playing of Juan Carlos Romero and his
constant upstaging seemed not to bother Carmen as much as
the writer of these lines. Siguiriyas with cabal, and bulerías
to finish.
His minimalist lines, his dignity,
his absolute elegance and rigorous demeanor are qualities
that set an example for young dancers
After intermission, another veteran artist, legendary dancer
from Madrid, Eduardo Serrano “El Güito”.
Let’s not kid ourselves, the man’s style is outdated
in many ways, but his minimalist lines, his dignity, his absolute
elegance and rigorous demeanour are qualities that set an
example for young dancers in the new millennium who all too
often forget to look back over their shoulders to take a reading.
The company is much better prepared than when we saw them
a few months ago, and all are fine professionals especially
guitarist Felipe Maya, the father of Jerónimo. Two
unnamed male dancers, one female, Eliezer Truco, singers José
Jiménez and Leo Triviño, and second guitar Juan
Serrano provide fine backup. Güito’s famous soleá
makes one realize this classic dance is somewhat sidelined
these days since the preferred dance, by far, is bulería
por soleá (or soleá por bulería if you
prefer). This soleá of Güito’s is all drama,
weightiness, pregnant silences and expectation, with the occasional
rhythmic release. He also danced farruca, and Truco did a
respectable taranto. A duo por alegrías of the two
male dancers recalled the days when Güito and Mario Maya
paired up and revolutionized male flamenco dance.
Soleá with all the
family tradition and Mairena influence one would expect
Juan Peña “Lebrijano” takes his place
on stage beside his nephew, the young guitarist Pedro María
Peña and two female chorus voices. His song with the
repeated chorus “truenan”, that his followers
know by heart makes a fine introduction. Bamberas on the sixth
fret in “A” position is the vehicle to continue
with the “romances” cultivated by the Peña
family. A sort of potpourri of cantiñas includes traditional
alegrías, mirabrá, alegrías de Córdoba
y other odds and ends, all tastefully laid out. A sudden discharge
from the smoke machine causes the charming singer to exclaim
“this is incredible, like being in heaven!”, and
it was the perfect introduction for the bulería song
“Sueños en el aire” from the singer’s
most recent recording. Soleá with all the family tradition
and Mairena influence one would expect, more bulerías
and his creation “Galeras” to finish off.
On this night everything was possible
for the singer from Aznalcóllar.
The spectacular home stretch came with El Cabrero accompanied
by Manuel de Palma. In this part of the world the singer is
extraordinarily popular. In fact, the audience reaction to
this man was overwhelming and no one seemed to care about
his frequent dissonances or a couple of cantes like siguiriya
or soleá he really ought to stay away from. Bulerías
was much better, especially a song in minor key “La
Lluvia”. The audience, HIS audience, demanded more and
more… malagueña, rondeña “with the
authentic smell” as Cabrero remarked, fandangos, milonga,
Caracol’s carcelero, more fandangos, bulerías,
martinete…on this night everything was possible for the
singer from Aznalcóllar.
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