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SEVILLE'S BIENAL DE FLAMENCO
2002. 'CONTRABANDISTAS'
As close as home
Silvia Calado Olivo. Seville, September 22nd, 2002
Photos: Javier Hurtado
'Contrabandistas'. Director, coreographer and solo dancer:
David Morales. Guest choreographer: Eva la Yerbabuena. Music: José
María Bandera, Paco Javier Jimeno, Antonio Manuel Molina. Cante: El Ecijano,
Rocío Bazán. Guitar: Paco Javier Jimeno. Cello: Antonio Manuel Molina.
Flute: Nicolás Malaspina. Bass clarinet: Manuel Medina. Percussion: Tete
Peña, Guillermo Ruiz. Special collaboration: Javier Ruibal. Original and
verses: Juan José Téllez. Teatro Lope de Vega. Seville, September
22nd, 2002. 9:00 p.m.
David Morales
"The flamenco traditions of Cádiz become a tribute to the romantic
image of the smuggler who, far from the official line, represented a traditional
way of life at the frontier with the Straits". With these few words taken
from the handbill, Juan José Téllez, journalist and writer, explains
'Contrabandistas', a territorial and thematic show about black marketeers, con
men, repression, flight, love, death.
The need for an explanatory booklet, and this is one of the great virtues of
the work, is nevertheless practically nil...that's what staging, musical, and
dance tools are for, all employed by the well-staffed technical and artistic team
- natives of the area of influence dealt with in the story - which backs up the
show. The stage sets. The music. The dancing. 'Contrabandistas' is full of good
staging ideas: the use of shadows to represent persecution, the metaphor of those
shadows, reflections mirrored on the patio, the flashbacks at the moment of death...
Nothing is invented; a bit more bravery might have been in order however.
The music, including the instrumentals and the voice, is full of chiaroscuro.
The intervention of singer-songwriter Javier Ruibal is a flamenco delight through
whom the prologue is developed, recalling Carlos Cano. From there on begins another
of the work's achievements: the creation of original verses to tell a story through
song, at a time when the output of flamenco lyrics is not only scarce, but of
low quality. The cante which acts as vehicle is fundamental - Rocío Bazán,
winner of the Contest for Young Interpreters, and El Ecijano - with some solo
moments such as the 'Rondeña de los Diteros'. The live music ranges from
flamenco to classical mood music, with the playing of Paco Javier Jimeno being
noteworthy as well as the supporting sequences, in both the gloomy and the brighter
scenes.
And the dancing. In this regard 'Contrabandistas' can be interpreted on two
opposing levels: that the dancers' anonymity helps to not overshadow the narrative,
or the anonymity of the artists weakens the work. Noteworthy, a soleá by
David Morales, the tanguillos and the group alegrías. On the other hand,
the numbers are too drawn-out, which has the detrimental effect of stopping the
overall pace of a show which demonstrates along the way that the fountain of inspiration
for continued creation of theatrical flamenco works is as close as home.
Javier Ruibal
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The other side of the story
The three off-stage voices that scold spectators before each show in Spanish,
English and Japanese are not sufficient to satisfy the Bienal's international
pretensions. Just ask journalists from foreign media how they manage to communicate
with the organization if they can't defend themselves in the local language. Ask
the enthusiastic foreigners who tried to buy tickets from abroad how they had
to give up the idea of such an adventure. Ask the foreign programmers who were
left without tickets due to official local protocol...unfortunately.
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revista@flamenco-world.com
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