VERANOS DEL CORRAL 2011. FLAMENCO DANCING SHOWCASE. MANUEL LIÑÁN
(One and) seventeen unique nights
Silvia Calado. Granada, July 25th, 2011
Translation: Joseph Kopec
Manuel Liñán: baile. Luis Mariano, Antonia Jiménez: guitar. Antonio Campos, Ismael de la Rosa. Ana Romero, Vanesa Coloma: clapping, vocals. Veranos del Corral 2011. Corral del Carbón. Granada (Spain), July 25th, 2011. 10:30 p.m.
If you take a stroll down Paseo de los Tristes one of these evenings, you’ll come across a good handful of offers to see live flamenco. The same thing happened to Walter Starkie over a century ago. Back then, there was no Internet or any way to check out the city’s cultural agenda online. And travelers had to trust in the oral bill which, in turn, was proposed to them by the sharp 'public relations' people. Now that we are overwhelmed with information by means of a thousand and one devices, it’s worthwhile to make a search and try to sort things out, because there are especially unique ways to see first-rate flamenco this summer in Granada. Can you imagine being in the courtyard of a former Al-Andalusian corn exchange under the arbors made from vines, enjoying one of today’s leading young flamenco figures? Well, it isn’t just a supposition. The Corral del Carbón has been holding the thirteenth edition of the 2011 Veranos del Corral Flamenco Showcase Series for a week now. And to start off with, it presented four young flamenco dancing maestras, of the kind who combine a balance of traditions and searches: Belén Maya, Isabel Bayón, Mercedes Ruiz and Rafaela Carrasco.
After the first week’s program, it was a bailaor native to this land who took over the beautiful stage. Manuel Liñán left this city quite a few years ago, and arrived in Madrid in order to grow, share and create works of his own such as 'Tauro'. And now when he returns, he does so wielding a mature show of his own. The Granada-born artist is a bailaor who is personal and confident, energetic and virtuous, musical and physical. And even with the limited format imposed by this setting, he managed to distinguish himself with singular details that convinced the audience from the very first minute. The two 'Manolas' came out onto the balcony, fanning themselves to the tanguillo beat and softly singing the Cádiz string of “la guapa”. The bailaor started off his performance with such an unusual style for a solo. Surrounded by a circle of voices (the female ones hitting the right tempo more than the cantaor did), Liñán sprinkled the stage with wonders... and with salt which if not from the Atlantic in Cádiz, must be from the Mediterranean in Motril. And adrenaline and grace and aim.
A guitar solo with a charismatic melody and a Moorish echo introduced the second baile piece: a personal soleá por bulerías. The bailaor achieved a perfect footwork-body-cane trinomial. He used the accessory to trace lines, stress his rhythmic intuition and show off his expert technique. And all of it, with dancing meticulous both in presence and in movement. It isn’t easy to go from silence to bursting out in a single passage... and without losing a bit of composure. A handful of grief-laden, lung-filled cantes filled the transition to the third piece. Liñán began a journey from darkness to light, from the mine taranto to tangos albaicineros, from stylized serenity to playful flirting. The bailaor, wearing a white shirt and sash, focused on the curve of his body, and even on the hidden message on his face, to end up convincing the crowd which nearly filled the historical building. When the lights came back on, many people were ecstatic for a moment, peering around themselves. Yes, they had been there... and watching flamenco of the kind that is seen at the most renowned festivals. And it was no coincidence: until well into August, it will be experienced a dozen times by hundreds of lucky people. Searching is worthwhile.
