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Text : Norman Paul Kliman
Photos: Rafael Manjavacas
Vicente Soto presents his new record “eStar
Alegre”
A night of celebration at Madrid’s Galileo Galilei
club with the presentation of Vicente Soto’s new recording.
With a mixed audience of about a hundred people anxious to partake
of the singer’s festive attitude, Vicente came on stage with
a serious, dark setting, marking compás with finger-snaps
like sparks, to offer four cantes of the blacksmiths. He warmed
up with tonás, then debla, sounding of the past, speaking
of the forge and of Triana gypsies who assuaged their suffering
with song.
Vicente’s sidekick and man for all occasions appeared: guitarist
José María Molero. It’s a true delight to watch
this duo’s rapport which demonstrates a constant flow of mutual
admiration and constant quips (“thank you maestro for lending
a hand”, “oh, your wish is my command”). Vicente
reminded us that the purpose of his appearance was to share “this
newborn baby” called “eStar Alegre”, and thanked
us for attending. He announced that being a flamenco singer he couldn’t
allow himself “the luxury of appearing somewhere without singing
martinete or soleá”. He then offered bamberas with
good taste and the accompaniment of José María, a
very attentive and dynamic guitarist who accompanies with impressive
sensitivity. In the second cante he suffered the misfortune of breaking
the fingernail of his index finger, but the mishap didn’t
seem to be an obstacle to his playing throughout the night.
Drawing in to the festive styles that so wonderfully adorn the
new record, the third cante took us from the somber tonás,
and the melancholic mood of the bamberas, to some new cantiñas
composed by José María Molero. A true delight with
a fresher than fresh sound.
then announced it was the moment to present “the younger Sordera
set”: his friend Carlos Rodríguez, nephew of José
Soto “El Boys” (son of Sorderita), Manuel Soto’s
son, Manteca de Jerez’ nephew, García Soto’s
nephew, Rafaela Soto’s daughter, José Manuel Soto’s
nephew and Rafael Soto. With a keyboard, two cajones and four ‘palmeros’
who also did chorus, the dynasty of the Sorderas came on strong
with the tangos “Pañí”, a tribute to La
Niña de los Peines. Sounds of water, coins, references to
the bridge, and even painters from Madrid to Benidorm. The group
was tight.
Next up the group interpreted themes from the recording, including
a bulería in honor of Adela la Chaqueta, a singer with whom
Vicente worked a great deal and shared many experiences. “Sale
la Luna” is a catchy tune with easy rhythm, hard to get out
of your head and frankly entertaining. Here, and at other moments,
the chorus wasn’t up to par, possibly due to nervousness,
because most of the time they demonstrated great talent. Now and
again Vicente began to let the full potential of his voice unfold.
He interpreted Extremadura tangos “my way”, with the
sixth string tuned down to D which gave a different feeling to the
choruses, keyboard and percussion: “Soy canastero, tengo cositas
de canastero” and “Quita la pena”.
then paid tribute to La Repompa with some tangos and it became clear
his record offers the most festive and accessible kind of flamenco,
at the same time as showing good taste and a respect for the tradition.
He finished off with bulerías of La Perla de Cádiz
“with my own touch, but always thinking of her”. Guitars
and percussion let rip, and with a shout of “Give it to me!”
Vicente demanded the heat. With the strings damped, his voice flew
high, leaving behind a stimulating series of cantes with no more
backup than ‘palmas’ percussion and good spirits.
More bulerías followed, nearly everyone danced, including
Vicente. But that wasn’t enough: at the audience’s insistence
Vicente had “no choice” but to sing some fandangos.
“Aylililianda y ole” with Caracol and a the famous verse:
Que me critique la gente [Let them talk about
me
a mi no me importa nada I don’t care about anything
que me critique la gente let them talk about me
yo soy un águila imperial I’m a soaring eagle
y mientras tenga una pluma and as long as there’s one feather
por mis niños de mi alma for my beloved children
no voy a dejar de volar I won’t stop flying.]
And so he ended, standing tall….
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Translated by: Anne Goodman