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‘DE LA MISMA SANGRE’ |
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SPECIAL BIENAL DE FLAMENCO DE SEVILLA 2008 Text: Estela Zatania Cante: José de la Tomasa, Gabriel Pies Plomo. Guitar: Antonio Carrión, Luis Amador, Antonio Moya. Chorus and palmas: Fabiola, Luís Peña, Javier Heredia. Supposedly in the 21st century no one talks any more about music being in anyone’s “blood” except in the purely poetic sense. So the title of the show “De la Misma Sangre” (‘from the same bloodline’), of a proud father and his cantaor son should be taken as a reference to the family ties, right? Nevertheless, when I left the Lope de Vega theater after this show, I was almost convinced there are little notes swimming through the veins of certain individuals, dodging the red and white blood cells. But let’s begin at the beginning… José “de la Tomasa”, grand-nephew of the great Manuel Torre, grandson of Pepe Torre, son of Tomasa and Pies de Plomo. That is the impeccable lineage of a knowledgeable and versatile singer, a noteworthy figure of his generation. He just caught the tail end of the heyday of Seville’s Alameda de Hércules and Triana when young singers were not only able to hear the great maestros of the era, but also hone their skills on the job and possibly become professional singers themselves. Nowadays that kind of preparation is no longer possible, and young hopefuls who wish to develop a classic repertoire, depend almost totally on recordings, old or recent. But Gabriel Pies Plomo, “Grabi” as his father calls him, was fortunate enough to grow up with a maestro of cante who also teaches his art at the Cristina Heeren Foundation in Seville. However, if we’re going to judge Gabriel independently of all that baggage, I can only give my most sincere opinion that the young man was not prepared for the dramatic coming-out party his father hoped to make of this recital at the venerable Lope de Vega. Not by any means. “Here we have a new cantaor…tonight Gabriel is the king of this great theater!” proclaimed the father who earlier in the day had compared the occasion to a bullfighter’s first time in the ring. But not even the repeated allusions to the family’s flamenco history that came up again and again in the sung verses, nor the expert accompaniment of Antonio Moya, nor the audience’s indulgent applause could make up for the boy’s weak voice, off-tune notes and lack of confidence. An ambitious repertoire – farruca, toná liviana, mining cante, cantiñas – was no help either. A little soleá and a little humility would have gone much further. Perhaps a few Bienals from now glory will come knocking on its own. As far as the father, no problem whatsoever. On the contrary. José de la Tomasa is in excellent form, and he sang at ease with the classic accompaniment of Antonio Carrión, recent winner of the prize of the Jerez Cátedra de Flamencología. With his long wavy hair, his chiselled-in-granite features and his jaw jutting forward to make way for the many layers of his rich voice, he sang soleá, taranto, tientos tangos, fandangos and siguirilyas. The recital was rounded out with a traditional fiesta finale that incorporated the singing and dancing of Fabiola, Javier Heredia and Luis Peña.
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