2007 CAJA MADRID FLAMENCO FESTIVAL
ESPERANZA FERNÁNDEZ • TRIBUTE TO PEDRO BACÁN
That necessary flamenco
S.C. Madrid, February 1st, 2007
First part. Esperanza Fernández,
cante. Paco Fernández, cante. Miguel Vargas and
José Manuel Ramos, clapping. Second part. ‘Aluricán
en azul y verde. Show in memory of Pedro Bacán’.
Inés Bacán, Pepa de Benito and Rafael de
Utrera, cante. Antonio Moya, Sevi Bacán and Curro
Vargas, guitar. Angelita Vargas, Carmen Ledesma, Diego
de la Margara and Fernanda Peña, baile. Antonio
el Pelao, Vicente Romaní and Gonzalo Peña,
clapping. 15th Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival 2007. Teatro
Albéniz. Madrid, February 1st, 2007
Inés Bacán (Photo:
Daniel Muñoz)
And the flamencos and flamencas from
Lebrija and Utrera ended up partying down the aisle of
the theater before a flabbergasted crowd which marked
the beat for them as best they could. Inés Bacán
and Pepa de Benito singing por bulerías, Angelita
Vargas and Carmen Ledesma doing some little steps with
pure charm and the guitars pointing up to heaven, to Pedro
Bacán. Ten years have passed since the death
of the Lebrija-born guitarist and this show, ‘Aluricán
en azul y verde’, honors his memory. It kicked things
off calling on feeling, with a piece performed by his
son, Sevi Bacán, and next, a lullaby sung by his
sister, Inés
Bacán. The cantaora stretched her arms out
in front of her, opened the palms of her hands and cracked
her voice in a timeless lament. With maternal sweetness
and homely ease, Pepa de Benito gave away lyrics por soleá
por bulerías.
The cantiñas were uttered by Rafael
de Utrera, from inside outwards, taking Carmen Ledesma
out to dance. Just enough motion, minimum elaboration,
woman with a capital “w”. And then the voice
is heard of Pedro Bacán, the philosopher: “Flamenco
is music of resignation, which has the humility of being
human, but knowing that, even so, we’re important”.
And his sister resigned herself por soleá. The
‘family’ then seeks out the other side, that
of tangos, that of cantiñas. A little bit of baile.
A little bit of courtyard. And back to the soleá,
sung by Rafael de Utrera subtly and tactfully, seconding
Angelita Vargas’ bailaor mood just right. Ode to
contention, breathing and instant flurry. Next, the courtyard
is lit up again. And bulerías are sung and danced
to and Pedro Bacán and Fernanda
de Utrera are remembered: “The little bells
of Utrera have stopped ringing; they don’t hear
Fernanda any more, singing por soleá”.
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Esperanza Fernández
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
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But we have cantaoras here who aren’t
going to let her legacy die. Esperanza
Fernández aimed for one of the most outstanding
moments of her performance to be the soleá.
Leaning a little on the chair, letting her cante flow
out slowly, having her weight noticed, rocking it, embellishing
it verse by verse. She got to the soleá after warming
up por abandolaos and evoking Pastora por farruca while
standing, showing a flamenco picture wrapped in black
lace. And she left the soleá to devote herself
por cantiñas; she did them bright, old-style and
with olé quality. The guitar constantly called
on the rhythmic side, with a lot of flavor but with such
simplicity that it was inevitable to miss the music of
usual colleagues like Miguel Ángel Cortés,
who more than enhance the elaboration of her vocal work.
She returned to the soleá for the seguiriya, deep,
really deep. A change of pace and she pulled out an inviting
string of tangos trianeros, remembering the women with
the last name Montoya. It was old-style, savory. And it
was a hit. All that was left was for her to finish things
off: the bulerías she sings and dances to, with
and without a mike, whispering and splitting her voice
in impossible ‘levantá’. And Madrid,
which gave her her first break, reaffirmed itself with
Esperanza Fernández. But it is a shame that the
Andalusian Agency for the Development of Flamenco has
split up enthusiasts in Madrid, ‘competing’
at the same time with the series Andalucía Flamenca,
with the result of Teatro Albéniz three-quarters
full, while Isabel Bayón and El Pele presented
‘La puerta abierta’ at the Teatro Gran Vía.
You need to think in order to develop.
Photo
gallery. Caja Madrid Festival 2007.
January 31th
Click the images to enlarge |
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| Show
in memory of Pedro Bacán (Photo:
Daniel Muñoz)
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Show
in memory of Pedro Bacán (Photo:
Daniel Muñoz) |
Carmen
Ledesma
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
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| Esperanza
Fernández
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
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Pepa
de Benito
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
Rafael
de Utrera
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
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