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ANTONIO CANALES. SEVILLE'S 13th BIENAL DE FLAMENCO 2004
Unarmed
Silvia Calado. Seville, September 10th,
2004
Photos: Daniel Muñoz
‘Antonio Canales and Friends in
concert’. Antonio
Canales: baile. Daniel Méndez and Paco Iglesias:
guitars. Guadiana, Potito and Herminia Borja: cante. Lucky
Losada and Isidro Suárez: percussion. Remedios Silva
and Aroa Pisa: choruses and clapping. Maestranza Theater.
Seville, September 10th, 2004. 9 p.m. Seville's 13th Bienal
de Flamenco 2004.
Antonio Canales |
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Antonio Canales made a halt in the ‘Carmen,
Carmela’ tour and gave up the role of Don José
for one night, in order to play himself. He had before him
the challenge, nearly racing against the clock (since originally,
he was not scheduled to perform at the Bienal), of working
out a show worthy of the Maestranza Theater. And he faced
up to it with an open heart, with all the success to be expected.
Accompanied by just a few friends, among which Guadiana and
El Potito shined in their own right, he composed an austere
performance in which if there was anything, it was Antonio
Canales' dancing. With neither embellishments nor excuses,
the Sevillian bailaor quenched the thirst of the faithful
who filled the venue in Seville to the brim.
Coming first was the solemnity of the seguiriya. With a cantaor
seated on either side, Antonio Canales can be sensed in the
darkness. Guadiana
sings that “no te rebeles, serrana” which
his creative throat likes to renew. The bailaor starts to
take shape under the light cannon. He calls and stands firm,
stops and spreads his wings, strolls about without bothering
the cante, which now comes from the mouth of El Potito. The
gestures, whistles, hunching up, posing... and settling. The
guitar sounds sweet, like a breeze. And the bailaor begins
his crescendo, sole owner of the stage. He dances. “Ejé!”.
Lights. Ovation.
Guadiana and El
Potito remain by themselves. Curiously, they perform for
the first time together on stage the bulerías included
on Tomatito's new album, ‘Aguadulce’.
Without comparing the guitars, since they are from different
worlds, but making a note of how unpolished the performance
was, “en casa del herrero, cuchara de palo”
was heard. Guadiana, varying each phrasing, with all the musical
wealth flowing from his vocal cords. Potito, faithful to the
Camarón-style quejío. What great voices. What
a good interlude.
The backdrop is withdrawn and the stage is entirely exposed,
with the percussions and the choruses in the back. Whirling
with want of style an embroidered silk shawl, Herminia Borja
crosses the stage. She sings stylized popular songs through
tangos, accompanied in the choruses by three girls making
their début. The vocalist's lack of measure tarnishes
one of Antonio Canales' strong styles, one of the few men
who masters dancing through tangos. There is not equal footing
in the ‘pair’. The girls make mistakes repeatedly.
The only one seeming to have the situation under control is
the star. And he does not seem to enjoy it.
The next instrumental piece means a flop in the show's dynamics.
They do what they can, quite simply. The box drum solo, the
muddled choruses... it fades, it fades. And now that the background
turns red, the soleá is heard and Antonio Canales gets
the crowd's undivided attention by opening his arms. The presence,
the authority, the attraction of this stage giant is unquestionable.
Guadiana sings for him. And the lighting, used quite tactfully
by Óscar de los Reyes, is always ready to emphasize
the cuts, the stances... El Potito takes over and the bailaor
proves strong, mighty, invincible. Oh, but his face is still
serious, still sad... and the whole performance reflects it.
He does not usually speak, but right in the middle of the
ovation for the grand finale through bulerías, he does
so: “I want to dedicate tonight to my sister Rocío”.
She died just a few months ago. And this requiem went to her.
Keepers of entanglement
Fernando Terremoto |
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The absurd debate on the evolution
of flamenco, the weary struggle between renovators and
purists, had another episode in the presentation of
the ‘festival’ which, at the same time Antonio
Canales was dancing at the Maestranza, would star Calixto
Sánchez, Fernando
Terremoto, Milagros Menjíbar and La Macanita
at the Lope de Vega. Upon the question of why cante
does not evolve the way guitar and baile do, the alarms
went off. Calixto Sánchez did not hesitate to
question “innovation within flamenco”. He
said that “it's easy to go to blues or jazz, or
to do little songs, little tangos with a chorus, that
which people call flamenquito”. Jerez-born
Fernando Terremoto seconded the man from Mairena, pointing
out that “flamenco is so great that just the use
of the word ‘flamenquito’ belittles it”.
And he noted that “the innovation is in the cantaor's
performance”. The subject took several more turns:
whether it is deceitful to say that that ‘flamenquito’
is the way to get young people to take an interest,
whether “cultural preparation is needed to listen
to flamenco” (consider the sentence by Calixto
Sánchez), whether “the public is being
deceived” (Menjíbar affirmed)... And things
were going to end up in a tie when a listener in the
room (and not exactly young), sprang on Terremoto de
Jerez's son: “Yeah, yeah, but let's see if we
at least change the lyrics, 'cause today you sing that
“por los rincones” here, tomorrow
you sing that “por los rincones”
there... and you all always sing the same thing”.
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