SEVILLE'S BIENAL DE FLAMENCO 2002. 'MALENA'/'TIERRA DEL COMPÁS'

Of yin-yang and clouds

Silvia Calado Olivo. Seville, September 20th, 2002
Photos: Javier Hurtado

'Malena'. Dance and choreography: Hiniesta Cortés, Alejandro Granados, Juan Carlos Lérida. Cante: David Lagos, Miguel Soto Londro, Encarnación Anillo. Guitar: José Luis Rodríguez, Eugenio Iglesias, Rafael Rodríguez. Percussion: Antonio Montiel. Script and original verses: José Luis Ortiz Nuevo. Teatro Central. Seville, September 20th, 2002. 9:00 p.m.

"Entre dos vereas iguales, yo no sé cuál escoger" ['Two equal paths, I know not which to choose']. This soleá of La Serneta was the basis for Malena, the work financed by the regional Administration and premiered by dancer Hiniesta Cortés at the Teatro Central. One of those paths was orthodox flamenco...the other, more or less non-conformist. The opposites...and Malena in the middle. That was the idea, but the crux of the question was to give it form. The script reduced the work to an insubstantial reiteration of the ménage a trois: Alejandro Granados who did not enjoy one of his best nights, in the role of the flamenco bailaor; Juan Carlos Lérida, with a seldom seen way of dancing, in the part of the more avant-garde bailarín; and Hiniesta Cortés caught in the middle. The dancer, in emotional turmoil due to the demands of the story line, hardly gives a glimpse of what she really does, not timewise - by the clock, she spent a full half of the show sitting on-stage in a chair - nor inspiration-wise. And the backup doesn't help much either. The three guitars take refuge in noise...impertinent strumming. The singers, hell-bent on swallowing the mikes, and sound technicians who were of little help, offered up a sort of cante that was not easy to take. Fandangos, alegrías, soleá por bulerías, tangos, seguiriyas, mineras... The debate between the two opposite poles extended to the audience: some were disappointed, others gave a standing ovation.

Moneo family por bulerías

'La tierra del compás'. Moneo family: Cante: Manuel Moneo, Macarena Moneo, Rocío Moneo, Luis Moneo, Manuel Moneo El Barullo. Guitar: Juan Moneo, Juan Manuel Moneo. Palmas and dance: Chico Pacote, El Aoño. Nano de Jerez and Tío Juane's family: El Gordo, Enriqueti, Niños de la Fragua. Hotel Triana. Seville, September 20th, 2002. 12 midnight.

And from the Isla de la Cartuja to Triana's 'cava'. The Hotel Triana brought together a fiesta, full of the compás of Jerez...with the Moneos and Juanes. Nevertheless, one family, and then the other, choose introspection. Seguiriyas, soleares and a bit of taranto kept bulerías at bay until the endings. And then, of course, the palmas, singers standing up, the little dance. "Tomaquetoma" was shouted from the rear. And in fact the first group was a bit off, and the second placed all the responsibility of keeping the audience from dozing off on Nano de Jerez. Foreboding clouds rushed by overhead, the still moon occasionally showing through.

revista@flamenco-world.com