XVII Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba- Arte que hace historia. Matilde Coral, Chano Lobato, José Luis Ortiz Nuevo

Solo guitar: Paco Serrano.
Cante: Luis de Córdoba, guitar, Manuel Siveria.
Dance: Antonio Alcázar, Victoria Palacios. Guitars: Rafael
Montilla, Juan
Muñoz ‘Tomate hijo’. Cante:Rafael Espejo ‘Churumbaque
hijo, Isabel Galo.
Percussion: Juanfra
’Historias de arte’: Matilde Coral,
Chano Lobato, Fernando Moreno, José Luis
Ortiz Nuevo.

A sampler of unusual ingredients far removed from the gleaming
world of “new flamenco”, none of which could have filled
a theater anywhere in the world, joined forces to offer a different
sort of show, varied, and in the end, quite entertaining, offering
a glimpse of flamenco’s diversity.

Interestingly, each principal performer, from Matilde Coral in
1968, to Antonio Alcázar in 1992, are former winners of Córdoba
prizes which in a certain way served as an epilogue to evaluate
the relevance, or lack of same, of the Concurso de Córdoba
– readers may draw their own conclusions.

The lengthy program opened with Córdoba guitar soloist Paco
Serrano who displayed classic sensibility with some lovely original
falsetas for taranta, soleá, guajira, zapateado and bulerías
without resorting to the alternative tunings so fashionable these
days, and clean technique somewhat hampered by the sound of the
guitar. Guitarists sometimes lower the bridge of the instrument
to achieve a softer touch, but this can lead to unwanted resonances.

Paco Serrano	Luis de Córdoba with Manuel Silveria

The impossibly beautiful velvet voice…

Still with Córdoba, next up were singer Luis de Córdoba
and guitarist Manuel Silveria. Luis de Córdoba has long enjoyed
stable if discreet fame based mainly on cantes of ‘ida y vuelta’,
alegrías and mining cante, without ever falling into the
saccharine melismas usually associated with this kind of repertoire
many people would called “Andaluz” as opposed to “gypsy”.
He began with a tasty assortment of alegrías and cantiñas,
followed by cartageneras, levantica, tientos tangos which included
Pastora’s ‘Gurugú’, tangos extremeños,
de la Repompa and granadinos, siguiriya in the high tone of six
‘por medio’ and fandangos with the beautiful but seldom
heard fandango of el Niño León (which some attribute
to Juan Varea). To please a lady who kept requesting colombianas,
the singer finished off with that sweet major-key form, delighting
his audience made up mostly of locals. Noteworthy, way beyond any
single interpretation, is the impossibly beautiful velvet voice
that characterizes Luis de Córdoba who tends to appeal more
to the general public than hard-core flamenco-followers. Manuel
Silveria’s accompaniment was a pleasant surprise, outstanding.

At that point we all stepped into a time machine which took us
back to the nineteen-sixties when Vicente Escudero’s zapateado
was still danced, and the ‘campanas’ section was played
with harmonics, that sweetly corny guitar trick that makes old ladies
smile. Antonio Alcázar, winner in 1992 of the Vicente Escudero
prize, is the brave young soul who pulls off this feat. But that’s
only the beginning. Dancer Victoria Palacios, winner in 1992 of
the La Malena prize, contributes a retro taranto ending in rumba,
like in the old days. Alcázar returns dressed in leotard
and tasseled boots, a living flashback, to dance a farruca. Palacios
returns and the choreography turns into a sort of Argentine tango.
Farruca is not usually a couple dance, and we may now have discovered
a possible reason. But the truth be told, the audience went wild
with this number straight from a Costa Brava nightclub in the nineteen-seventies.

The party continues, the audience rapt…”art

that makes history”, the phrase couldn’t be more apt.

After
intermission we returned to the present, but a present steeped in
the past. “Historias de arte” is the title of a novel
presentation based on the experience and respective personalities
of veterans Chano Lobato and Matilde Coral who share a long résumé,
and a deep friendship. Jerez guitarist Fernando Moreno stood in
for Juan Habichuela, another veteran who usually provides the accompaniment
but was unable to attend due to health problems. Writer and flamenco-lover
José Luis Ortiz Nuevo, the work’s script-writer, moderator
and den mother to the two irrepressible oldsters, keeps the pace
up with his delightful commentary and nudges Matilde and Chano into
giving all they’re capable of giving, be it dance, song or
anecdotes. He tells us about the boat that drifted into Cádiz
from Africa two thousand years ago with the score for tangos, and
this is enough to get Chano going with tangos in the purest style
of Cádiz. After the cante, some of Chano and Matilde’s
screwy stories – with all her charming wit, Matilde tells
us about the fifteen thousand pesetas (less than a hundred dollars)
she took home from Córdoba in a leather purse the day she
won the prize in 1968, “the money’s still right there,
and we’ve been through some hard times!”

Chano sings alegrías and romeras for Matilde’s dance…more
stories, malagueña, bulerías, “Chano no! the
bulerías was supposed to be for the end!” scolds Matilde…Chano
recalls the twenty-five peseta raise he and Gaspar de Utrera received,
and the spree which followed…old-style rumba in the style of Espeleta
and Pericón, more bulerías, the party continues, the
audience rapt…”art that makes history”, the phrase
couldn’t be more apt.

José Luis Ortiz Nuevo, Matilde Coral y Chano Lobato

Text: Estela
Zatania
Photos: Rafael Manjavacas

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