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Pedro Sierra |
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Photos: Ana Palma
Guitar: Pedro Sierra. Cajón: José Carrasco. His life is music, and that’s what he came to Jerez to demonstrate once again. Pedro reminded us that to make flamenco music, no tricks are needed. Pedro Sierra (L’Hospitalet, Barcelona, 1966) is one of the most prolific guitarists of the current scene, both in his work as interpreter and as producer (the most recent recordings of Manuel de Paula, El Ecijano and Manuel López). His mind constructs messages with meridian clarity, and his musical approach leaves almost no room for compromise. If he were a Hollywood scriptwriter, he’d be rich, but instead he has the bad luck of being a flamenco guitarist in Spain, and that’s a thorny path. Pedro Sierra opened with granaína, continuing his discourse with farruca and fandangos. He was joined by José Carrasco to accompany him on the cajón for bulerías that was a mixture of strength, equilibrium and good taste. His alegrías made you want to get up and dance. A most entertaining sort of tangos, and a bulerías ending in the Jerez style. Just guitar and cajón. Nothing else. That’s how Pedro Sierra let us visit his world for one hour. The fact is, his name doesn’t appear on enough programs: his experience, dedication and creativity, day by day, year after year, ought to have earned him his own place in the current history of flamenco guitar.
Estévez y Paños Dos Por Medio y Cía Dance: Rafael Estévez, Nani Paños, Sara Vázquez, Moisés Navarro, Encarnación López, Raquel Lamadrid, David Coria, Christian Lozano, Laura Rozalén, Álvaro Paños, Rosana Romero, Irene Lozano. Guest artists: Antonio Ruz and Concha Jareño. Estévez and Paños reminded us that dance is a universal language, capable of telling any story. In a rather extensive program, they symbolically went through the history of flamenco dance, cante and guitar, and they did it with originality and quality. Originality by focusing their approach on quality in the execution. The circular vision of people with a background in the wide world of dance, in capital letters, lends a richness of elements and concepts with which to lay out their ideas. The cante of Chacón, Talega, Varea, Gallina… The guitar of Montoya, Sabicas, Niño Ricardo… The bolero school of dance, the great Antonio, Argentinita, Vicente Escudero… All those names, and many more, along with their artistic heirs, are what make up “Flamenco XXI; Ópera, Café y Puro”.
The choreographies are priceless, the music is chosen with good sense and the audio editing reveals someone clever running the show. It also must be said that some passages are confusing, and hard to follow, but the work proceeds with imagination, touches of humor, harmony between audio and dance, as well as lighting and wardrobe that enhance and highlight the ideas. Ideas, also written in capital letters, because that tends to be the hardest thing to find; the dearth of this element in the world of flamenco dance makes it all the more valuable. A great piece of work by Estévez and Paños, who also interpret their respective roles marvellously, just like the rest of the company and guest artists, such as Antonio Ruiz and Concha Jareño. And the organization of the Festival must be applauded for programming this kind of original and therefore risky show. It’s comforting to see flamenco critics taking notes from their seats, because usually when you go to this type of presentation, such as at the Triángulo or the Pradillo in Madrid for example, these same high-flying critics wouldn’t be caught dead. They may like it, or they may not, but at least they had to sit through it. Fran Espinosa Dance: Fran Espinosa. Cante: Eva de Dios, Rafael Espejo “Churumbaque”, El Güeñi. Guitar: Alberto Lucena. Palmas and chorus: Farina and El Mori. Percussion: Luís Dorado. And the night ended with another reminder: that the most important thing in art is communication. That you don’t have to have a perfect form for talent to bubble up to the surface.
Fran Espinosa brings back the importance of the wink, of devilishness, grace and wit. In other words, all that’s so often missing with these brainy studio sessions that pass for entertainment. Fran Espinosa has a very special personality on stage. He feels and dances the essence of flamenco…and transmits it with a strange combination of sensitivity and strength. It’s possible he overdoes some effects, and he seems more at ease with short format dance, especially dancing to cante with his well-developed pataíta. Nevertheless, he’s an authentic magician in what he does. He connects with the audience from the first instant, and knows how to go for the eye-catching moves. Nice program for Monday at the Festival de Jerez….a day to remember. |
Pedro Sierra
