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“Festival”
Cante: Antonio Núñez “Chocolate”,
Bernarda de Utrera, Pepa de Benito, El
Funi, Inés de Utrera, Tomás de Perrate
Guitar: Antonio Carrión, Pedro María Peña,
Antonio Moya, Antonio Malena.
Dance: Angelita Vargas with Ramón Amador and Eugenio Iglesias
(guitar),
Guillermo Manzano and Jarillo (cante), and Bobote, El Eléctrico,
Vicente Peña,
Javier Vargas, Antonio María Peña, Carlos and Alejandro
(palmas)
On Sunday evening under the heading “Festival”
the Bienal de Arte Flamenco de Sevilla presented an assortment of
artists that ran the gamut from novice to veteran, known to unknown.
It’s always interesting to study the demographic and social
makeup of the audience for the different presentations. On this
night of the most traditional sort of cante and dance, there was
a large foreign crowd, particularly Japanese. It seems outsiders
prefer their flamenco untainted. Farruquito is also among the audience
in a private box.
How different Utrera cante is from that
of Jerez and other flamenco areas
The cante town of Utrera was ably represented by Tomás de
Perrate, Pepa de Benito, Inés de Utrera and Bernarda de Utrera.
Perhaps because they’d been at the Utrera local fair the night
before, their voices were good and warmed-up and they were clearly
aiming to please. Tomás de Perrate, who resembles his legendary
father Perrate de Utrera and possesses the same moving “echo”,
demonstrated that his prize for best new artist at the last Bienal
was well-deserved. Guitarist Antonio Moya backed him up with sounds
that recalled guitarists Pedro Bacán and Diego del Gastor,
but adding his own personality.
How different Utrera cante is from that of Jerez and other flamenco
areas. The soleá is more rhythmic, the bulerías more
laid-back and the singers are especially fond of cuplé or
popular songs por bulerías which make up a large part of
the repertoire of any cantaor from this town, in part due to the
powerful influence of the late singer Bambino. Another characteristic
is their ability with fandango por soleá, a variation on
fandango that became popular towards the end of the “opera
flamenca” period and which is still quite current in Utrera.
Pepa de Benito displays all these characteristic with her intimist
voice and delivery, once again with Antonio Moya accompanying.
Inés de Utrera with the guitar of Pedro María Peña
contributed another more popular dimension of Utrera cante, and
with the great veteran Bernarda de Utrera, the sampler of this town’s
cante was just about complete. The small seventy-something lady
got the place hopping with her famous cuplé of María
de la Mercedes.
A voice that simultaneously caresses
and hurts.
El Chocolate offered his standard repertoire with faithful guitarist
Antonio Carrión, ending his malagueña del Mellizo
with jaberas, a lovely “abandolao” cante. The maestro
makes it all look so easy with a voice that simultaneously caresses
and hurts.
The presence on stage of Miguel Funi from Lebrija reinforced the
feeling of being at a festival in the nineteen-seventies, but his
performance was as disappointing as it was at the Teatro Central
several months back: too anxious to improvise and the thing didn’t
quite come together.
Angelita Vargas’ dancing, still spectacular at sixty-some
years, was the icing on the cake, and when two of her grandchildren
were pulled out to dance in the closing bulerías, Farruquito
was seen to jump from his seat and shout “oles”.
Text : Estela
Zatania
Miguel Poveda – Poemas del Exilio
Cante: Miguel Poveda
Guitar: Juan Gómez “Chicuelo”
Director and original music: Enric Palomar
Big Ensemble del Taller de Músics
“Poemas del Exilio de Rafael Alberti”
Teatro Maestranza. September 12th, 2004. 9:00pm
The Maestranza Theater received Miguel Poveda with an ovation.
This was a taste of what was to come from the grateful audience.
But after a while it seemed like the end of the show when a fair
number of people got up and left ahead of time leaving the theater
less than three quarters full for the singer from Cataluña.
His pull was strong, no easy thing considering Chocolate, Bernarda,
Funi and Angelita Vargas were over at the Lope de Vega.
He begins with cantiñas and the taste of salt-spray is unmistakable.
A stroll through old Cádiz with clipped verses, playing,
phrasing and reinventing the melodies to bring them inland a bit
including the Pinini styles. The program continues with malagueña
and fandango de Lucena where he revels in the low tones giving drama
to these cantes. Martinete ruffles the silence…breathing long
and deep, some lines are left unadorned and others are embellished.
Chicuelo’s guitar makes seguiriyas sounds and Poveda pulls
out a few heartfelt, lacerating verses, closing with a Talega style.
A long bulerías cuplé and by now it’s clear
the fellow can sing. And so ends the first part.
With the help of the music and directing of Enric Palomar, Poveda
gives voice to “Poemas del Exilio de Rafael Alberti”.
But he isn’t satisfied to offer a selection of two or three
pieces and lays the whole recording (of the same name) on us, without
even blinking. It’s understandable that despite the quality
of Palomar’s compositions the audience would get bored, because
everyone comes to the Bienal for flamenco. Furthermore, the music
was very similar for all the poems and monotony led to fatigue.
Two hours of show. What I wouldn’t have given to hear Poveda
sing soleá, mining cante, seguiriyas, fandangos! All very
pretty, yes indeed…Poveda is a force to be reckoned with. And
Alberti…in his books where he belongs. But let’s leave each
one to his proper chores.
Text : Kiko
Valle
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