Café Cantante, Tuesday,
July 1st, 2003. 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m.
Esperanza Fernández, cante; Miguel Ángel Cortés, guitar.
Juana Amaya, Rafael Campallo, dance; Enrique el Extremeño,
José Valencia, Juan José Amador, María Vizárraga, cante; Paco
Fernández, guitar.
The name “Café Cantante” seemed to indicate that the recital
of Esperanza Fernández, the singer from Triana, would include
a repertoire not only of flamenco, but also of jazz and other
types of music this versatile voice has incorporated in several
performances, but the lady offered straight-ahead traditional
flamenco of very high quality.
Despite
the heat inside the café cantante, Esperanza came on wrapped
in an enormous embroidered shawl as if to declare her intentions,
and after a sort of tango fantasy, she guided us down the
well-worn path of soleá with a wide assortment of styles,
cantiñas del Pinini with all its flavor, siguiriyas bravely
delivered despite not being the singer's specialty, tientos
tangos and bulerías. The guitarist from Granada, Miguel Ángel
Cortés, played competently but somewhat aggressively at times
for the delicacy of the cante.
Esperanza Fernández with Miguel A. Cortés
We allow ourselves
to become enthralled with the temperamental dance, fascinating
compás and intense personality of Juana Amaya.
We remained seated for Juana Amaya's much-awaited presentation
on the same stage while we tried some French-made Spanish
tapas. Javier Puga presented Juana's group in his impeccable
French and said some words for the recently deceased percussionist
and dancer Manuel Soler, a regular member of the Morón dancer's
company. Then the backup of six men and one woman dressed
in the basic black which has become so popular in flamenco
groups, came on and took their seats. The sound of bulerías
soon fades away into a round of a capella cantes from the
admirable trio of male singers, Enrique el Extremeño, José
Valencia and Juan José Amador, to pave the way for Juana's
short dance that serves as her presentation. The somewhat
unsatisfactory response of the stage immediately becomes noticeable
as a faint metallic eco accompanies each heel beat, but we
allow ourselves to become enthralled with the temperamental
dance, fascinating compás and intense personality of Juana
Amaya.
Juana Amaya
Alegrías soon morphs
into unabashed bulerías as so often happens nowadays.
Next up is María Vizárraga with sung tangos, and this begins
to look like the show “Yo Misma, Juana Amaya” that the dancer
presented in the last Bienal. Now as then, when it was Juana
la del Revuelo, the cante feels much like a fill-in, despite
its quality. Juana returns dressed in black trousers for what
starts out as alegrías, but soon morphs into unabashed bulerías
as so often happens nowadays – after all, it's the dance nearly
all bailaores enjoy most, and a good part of the audience as
well.
As
in the Bienal, the following number is a round of bulerías
between the four singers, something we bulería addicts have
no complaints about, especially when guitarist Paco Fernández
is cooking on high heat, but which turns out to be overly
long for the French audience which came to see the gypsy dancer
from Morón de la Frontera. The following number is alegrías
with Rafael Campallo. Extraordinary technique, all the compás
you can eat, strength and sheer physical beauty…all that,
but in flamenco you either communicate or you don't, and the
dancer did not achieve that state of grace that stands hairs
on end.
Rafael Campallo
From the first
instant she is visibly focused
and concentrated on giving her all.
For the home stretch, Juana appears dressed in flaming red
and the eye is grateful for the flash of color. It's time
for her main dance of the recital, and from the first instant
she is visibly focused, and concentrated on giving her all,
an expectation which is fully satisfied and fulfilled. She
continues to be a dancer who depends mainly on footwork, but
her command of the compás and of her own body is so absolute
that again and again we are fascinated. Communication received,
audience overwhelmed and thus ends the second day of the festival.
