SPECIAL FEATURE. JOURNEY OF NO RETURN, BY CONCHA JAREÑO. THE DIARY OF A FLAMENCO DANCER AROUND LATIN AMERICA
Journey of no return
Concha Jareño for Flamenco-world.com, July 2011
Translation: Joseph Kopec
For fifty days, Concha Jareño traveled around Latin America: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Costa Rica… It wasn’t a tour of great stages, but rather a plunge into flamenco’s basic fabric, that of the schools, small clubs and people who, at any latitude, love this art form and make an effort to learn it. Along the way, she visited Machu Picchu, Cuzco and the childhood home of Pablo Neruda, had a look at the Pacific Ocean, faced flight cancellations due to the eruption of a volcano in Chile… and above all, she left a part of herself in those similar lands. She relates so in first person in this exclusive story she publishes on assignment from Flamenco-world.com. |
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The initial idea was to travel to Buenos Aires to teach a course given that living there is Sofía, a former student who had encouraged me to organize one ever since she returned to her native country. After at least three years, I finally plucked up the courage and found the time to make the trip. I was determined to make this trip alone, under my own responsibility. I would take care of all the production... I set a date, advertised on the Internet and, as if by art of magic, invitations started coming in to other places in Argentina and other countries. At that moment I was at a transition in my life and it seemed like a good idea to me to get lost in the world in order to find myself again and so I started designing this trip which was originally going to last ten days and ended up being over fifty.
Concha Jareño in El Perro Andaluz de Buenos Aires (Photo Ximena Martínez) |
The tour began in Santiago de Chile. And the first thing to point out was the arrival by plane. My goodness, what a mountain range! I cried like a little girl while we flew over it. Waiting for me at that place was Cathy Sandoval, a Chilean flamenco artist who dances like an eagle. I taught courses at three levels and another one for bata de cola over five days. I met interesting people who I didn’t have time to get to know as much as I would have liked, but we had such good times together... The last day, I paid a visit to Valparaíso to get a whiff of the Pacific Ocean and to visit Pablo Neruda’s house.
Concha Jareño, El Perro Andaluz backstage (Photo Ximena Martínez) |
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Before I knew it, I was already in Buenos Aires, where I would spend two weeks. That’s where I spent the most time and therefore, where I had the most experiences. I did two courses, each one five days long with four groups at different levels. There’s a lot of flamenco and a great level in this city. The girls came really hungry to learn and to capture the essence of the movements. At certain times, the questions really caught my attention with so much detail that they’d ask about the movements which, in a way, had no answer due to being the very essence of my person: they aren’t analyzed movements, but rather organic ones.
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Dancing in Buenos Aires
Concha Jareño in
Buenos Aires
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There was a course where I had a brilliant time. It was in the beginners’ one, where we had our fill of dancing por tangos and bulerías with simple steps but with a little bit of “air”. The flamenco air had to be worked on and moreover we were lucky enough to have Brazilian guitarist Jony Galveç and Argentinean cantaor Maximiliano Serral. And we played there and learned to finish off the cante and the guitar. Afterwards, I had the pleasure of performing for two nights at El Perro Andaluz, a flamenco tablao where there’s a lot of love and respect for this art form and, really, they were magical nights. I thank María de la Paz for inviting me.
Next stop: La Plata. I was invited by Carito Echegaray. This place is really close to the capital and I thought that after two weeks there, this course would have less repercussion. But there was a great welcome. I got there running really low on energy after the intensity of Buenos Aires, which I felt like a beating heart that absorbed me, but the students were so excited and had such a desire to learn that, before I knew it, my batteries were already recharged. This trip was short-lived; just three days long. And quickly on to Rosario, a pretty city which I was hardly able to visit. The house where Che Guevara was born is there. A kind taxi driver pointed it out to me. One of the students there really called my attention because she practically didn’t know how to dance, but she came to take the courses just to be close to me and be able to see me dance. As she herself told me, “since you’re not doing a show, well, I come to see you here”. “It isn’t that I don’t want to”, I told her. But it isn’t so simple.
Concha Jareño Course. Chile |
Before I knew it, I was in Montevideo, a place that reminded me of Cuba. And the funniest thing is that I was never there. I was awaited by María Noel, who has a school close to the sea, where I went for a stroll along the beach every chance I got in order to revitalize myself… I was really starting to feel worn out. I did two two-hour courses where we devoted the first half-hour to introduction to the bata de cola. Nobody had a bata or knew how to use it and it was a good way to motivate the girls. If I go back, I hope to see the first batas and excitement to learn a little bit more. The following trip: Neuquen, in Argentine Patagonia. A place where they say there isn’t much flamenco and, surprisingly, the courses were full of students from all over the country. Great! It was a huge gift to see how people got on the go to study flamenco.
Bata de cola course |
And then came a little chaos: a volcano in Chile erupts and all the flights are canceled indefinitely. I had to travel Neuquen-Buenos Aires-Lima. I had to take a bus right after the course to go 1200 kilometers throughout the night in order to get to my connecting flight in time. After all that odyssey, my following flight doesn’t leave either and I end up stuck in Buenos Aires. Thank God I had friends there to at least have a good time with chatting over dinner. The next day, fortunately, my flight left and I managed to get to Lima in time to begin the course. The Cuéllar family had invited me and I found people there with so much love to share that I felt like staying. I taught a five-day course there with two levels. Moreover, I went to see a show with regional dances and I was amazed by the “Danza de las Tijeras” (Scissors Dance)… And now, yes! It was finally my turn and I gave myself a little present. Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Alone and in silence. How wonderful, what a way to regain my strength and, may it also be said, I really had to get up early those days!
Concha Jareño in Machu Picchu |
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And the last destination, San José in Costa Rica. I visited the Teatro Nacional which I wanted to see so much and for a long stretch of the morning I stayed silently in one of the boxes… I liked what I felt! Regarding the course, the proposal I was offered was interesting and intelligent: just doing courses on technique to learn the base and afterwards be able to work throughout the year. We worked on fan, cane, zapateado, spins, body position … We were only missing a bit of bata!
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Concha Jareño at Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica |
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Finally, the desired return to my land where awaiting me is a month of rehearsals and shows which I hope are interesting, fruitful and imbued with everything I experienced. I’ve just been back for a few days now and I’m receiving e-mails where I find students who feel happier for having done flamenco. In short, it was a therapeutic journey of no return. I think after an adventure like that you never come back whole; little Conchas remain scattered throughout South America and I bring back with me thousands of experiences which will surely make me grow and evolve along my way as an artist which we try to trace out so carefully.
Infinite thanks to flamenco for giving me so much…
Concha Jareño in Montevideo |
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