With a malagueña de Chacón the Festival de Jerez begins. It was the first to be heard in the charming and somewhat baroque Villamarta Theatre, whose muddy color complimented the insipid night. Five singers and a mediocre theatrical presentation, five voices pleading "jerezanía" and an attempted Lorca-esque drama. Being colder that usual due to the change of dates, Romerito de Jerez awakened the inaugural show with a veteran soleá.

When Chelo Pantoja belted out two malagueñas in the style of Melliza, he was warming up to what might be a more classical session, but plunging into seguiriyas he makes a surprising switch, bringing in "Hermana la Alejandra," who is brave and in her element with the party atmosphere. The following singers ironically give thanks for the opportunity to be the festival; Jesús el Almendro starts with a mirabrás and some more warmed up seguiriyas. Manuel Palacín ("since '72 I haven't sung in this theatre") performs bulerías por soleá and after a short toná, graciously brings out the liviana, an unusual and risky song that lets us hear the heartfelt style of Agujetas-seguiria once and a while.

"A fine handkerchief from the store, was stained and then fell", this was the best sexist soleá of the night, big and long for a small group like that of Romerito de Jerez, who continued with a taranta, a cartagenera and two fandangos belted out at edge of the stage with extra dramatic appeal. On guitar, José María Molero, another artist from the congregated diaspora of Jerez-Madrid-Jerez, and of course the nephew of Romerito, Enrique Pantoja sparked the fin de fiesta and talked about "jerezanía and it's generations". When he gets to the end of the sentence, he breaks off a piece of the song for himself - in the style of Fernando de la Morena, little jumps and footwork in the Jerez style... The women follow their men, seated, until Chelo, the one with the hoarsest voice begins to sing fandangos por bulerías giving way to the final walk off stage next Enrique.

Esperanza Fernández

The haggard second part of the program returns with "Diálogo del Amargo" by Mario Maya; extreme simplicity with the lighting, choreography and characters, with Rafael de Carmen sweating out the six parts, from which Esperanza Fernández, who plays the mother, sings to him with granaínas and bulerías from the "sueño que va sobre el tiempo"(dream that goes through time). The rest of the cast (dancers Beatriz Marín and Ricardo Franco) had the close accompaniment of Paco Jarana on guitar (supported by Salvador Gutiérrez, and singer Pepe el Ecijano) and Esperanza, who entered the recording studio fifteen years ago to record this piece. If we must understand the past in order to move forward, as goes the motto of the festival, then this particular show hasn't taken kindly to the passing of time. The end finally comes with a strike of the knife to a seguiriya and with it the shout of Amargo, "a sad death for the olives".

Esperanza Fernández and Rafael de Carmen

By Luis Clemente
Translation: Jessica Lorber