Dance: Juan Manuel Fernández, 'Farruquito'
Antonio Fernandez ‘Farruco’; Pilar Montoya ‘La
Faraona’; Juan Montoya ‘Barullo’; Antonio
Moreno ‘Polito’; Adela Campallo, La Hachara Cante: La Tana, maría Vizárraga,
José Valencia, El Canastero, Antonio Zúñiga Guitar: Román Vicenti, El Perla Guest artist: Manuel Molina
Like
nothing ever before seen.
Juan Manuel Fernándes Montoya, Farruquito.
The mere mention of the name inspires awe. I can still feel
his heels digging into my soul, his glazed look, the fire
of his arms, his countenance and the elegance of his dance.
From
the program: “Dedicated to the memory of Manuel
Soler, Alma Vieja is an experience in tradition with the Farruco
family. With this work, Farruquito pays tribute to his ancestors,
to traditional cante, to the purest kind of dance, to all
the living that went before and that which shall endure. With
the greatest respect, Farruquito ofers his mother Farruca
the dance that bears his name, he challenges por soleá
interpreted by three generations and toasts life with tangos,
bulerías and fandangos. Joy and tragedy, life and dreams,
past and present in a heartfelt, profound work that pays tribute
to the most flamenco of genes. An exceptional narrator, Manuel
Molina, illustrates the saga”.
Manuel Molina comes on with his suffering, penetrating voice,
playing his guitar: “He was born of La Farruca and Juan
el Moreno, and by his granfather’s side he learned to
be a man”. The sense of drama is palpable when blackness
fills the stage. Farruquito picks up the feeling and puts
it in his pocket. He gives us a taste and then exits. Farruco,
La Faraona, Barullo, Polito, Adela Campallo and Hachara dance
fandangos. They work within a coherent, rhythmic and well-designed
choreography. This first dance ends with the cheers offered
to the central figure who stretches his arms out towards the
group.
Farruquito picks
up the feeling and puts it in his pocket.
In “Bulerías de la gorda” La Faraona
offers a dance that is far removed from any dance school,
learned in the street and in small gatherings, that spontaneous
dance that pleases and nourishes. The same dance Farruquito
has undoubtedly always drawn from, and which exudes sincerity,
depth and gypsiness through and through.
Guitarist Román Vicenti accompanies Farruquito’s
farruca titled “Farruca mía”. It belongs
not only to him but to those of us who were hypnotized by
the promise of a caress we wished would never end. José
Valencia also warrants an applause for his farruca. His traditional
singing contributed to heightening the drama of the moment.
Farruquito’s farruca, Román Vicenti’s and
José Valencia’s, ‘Farruca de mi corazón’.
It’s hard to describe the depth and duration of satisfaction.
In the soleá, three decades interact and honor grandfather
Farruco’s legacy. Each one appears and exits after leaving
their marks of identity demonstrating how much art the maestro
left in his wake. Farruquito, Farruco and Barullo. Unbearably
flamenco, the Maestranza was permeated with their flamenconess,
and a unified heartbeat is astonished in the presence of such
brilliant artistry.
Farruco
Manuel Molina
After intermission, the beautiful figures of Adela Campallo
and La Hachara. Farruquito treads upon the rose petals the
women in white ‘bata de cola’ threw upon him.
He throws his jacket over the shoulders of a singer and takes
him to center stage to sing. And the singer responds holding
back nothing.
Humble, respectful
gestures, full of kindness. Frankly brilliant.
Taranto with Farruco and La Faraona who offers the young
man water from a large jug and then sings to him. A jacket
thrown over a chair, the dancer’s figure pulls in tightly.
Farruco danced with elegance and genius, taking full advantage
of the chance at center stage afforded him by Farruquito who
has resisted the temptation to create a show centered on himself
and chosen a concept that focuses on roots and seedlings,
on singers and guitarists with whom he communicated throughout
the show, explicitly directing them with his steps, touching
them, as if thanking them for their voices and music, returning
to them the inspiration he draws from their art. Humble, respectful
gestures, full of kindness. Frankly brilliant.
The
seguiriya was outstanding. Farruquito adorns the story with
his footwork and runs down his genealogy in an act of pure
introspection and faith. His dance is moving, his arms reach
out and his legs go tense cushioning the weight of so much
art. His arms are pure flamenco, compás lives within
him, and he lives within the compás. The shadow of
his grandfather Farruco appears towards the rear of the stage.
His living image following his grandson’s shadow, impulsive
but sensitive, suffering but content, a bailaor if ever there
was one. With this dance the Farruco family demonstrated how
much they cherish their heritage. In a circle now, Farruco,
Barullo, Polito, Adela Campallo and La Hachara surround Farruquito
consoling the emptiness and nostalgia left by the memory of
the old man.
Manuel Molina closes the show and an extraordinary bulerías
finale wraps things up, almost unmatched. The crowning touch
was the boy of no more than three who did his bulerías
dance. Juan Manuel Fernández
Montoya, Farruquito. The audience wouldn’t let him go,
the ovation was deafening. Like nothing ever before seen. Farruquito
