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Cante Mª JOSÉ PÉREZ with MIGUEL OCHANDO, guitar Text: Sonia M. Pariente ”The genius of Pele” Manuel Moreno “El Pele” returned to Madrid to demonstrate, once again, that he’s the singer who gets through to people and is unique. He started out with a zambra, something he normally includes in his repertoire, and imbues it with sounds of Manolo Caracol. Standing up, his gestures, his interpretation…pure feeling. In malagueña and verdiales, in soleá apolá and siguiriya he delighted everyone with the sound of his voice, the highs and lows, very flamenco and showing great knowledge as well as power. He lets himself get completely carried away by the cante, and it’s gut-wrenching.
He interacted with the audience, when they applauded, he applauded them back, he told a joke, and at one point said: “the most beautiful thing in the world is our flamenco”, and without a doubt, he contributes to that greatness. He sang his personalized alegrías, and undecided as to what would be the last cante, he wanted to surprise everyone, including the guitarist, Patrocinio hijo, who was in top form. In the end he went with bulerías, a large portion, without music, pacing around the stage to let everyone know what a special artist he is. Earlier in the evening, two young singers performed, Marina Heredia and María José Pérez. Marina Heredia once again left no question that her singing is getting better as time passes. She is more serene, more self-assured. She arrived on stage singing toná, trilla and pregón, taking her own good time. Alegrías was intense, and soleá was gripping right until the end. Guitarist Bolita was noteworthy with his contemporary sound, along with Luis Mariano, both guitars playing in perfect unison. Marina sang a malagueña with great maturity, then picking up the pace to give free reign to her powerful voice for abandolao. Like any good self-respecting singer from Granada, she did a fine job with tangos de Granada, contrasting tension and calm, then ending her wonderful performance with bulerías.
The first singer of the evening had been María José Pérez from Almería, with a fine way of singing that was a joy to listen to. The laments and “ays” are carried to the limit, and everything is very flamenco. She sang pieces from her first record, malagueña with abandolao, alegrías…and interpreted solea with authority. Bulerías was a delight, especially the song “Mi Niña Lola” delivered without amplification.
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