Silvia Calado Olivo. Madrid, June 5th, 2002

José Antonio Galicia (percussion and voice), accompanied by Arcadio Marín (guitar), Luis Escribano (bass), Chema and Moi (cajones). Tomatito (guitar), accompanied by Bernardo Parrilla (violin), Diego Amador (bass and mandola), Potito (cante and second guitar), Joselito Fernández (compás) and Lucky (cajón). Manuela Carrasco (dance),accompanied by Enrique el Extremeño (cante), Samara Amador (cante and compás), Joaquín Amador (guitarra), Bobote (compás). Colegio de Médicos. Madrid, June 5th, 2002. 9:00 p.m.

Tomatito (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

A day of continuity. José Antonio Galicia explained the ins and outs of flamenco compás to dozens of children during the first two mornings of the festival. On the night of the third day he delved deeply into this facet with two of his own compositions. Jose Manuel Gamboa gave his conference on the work of Camarón in 1979, the year when he teamed up with Tomatito and recorded 'La leyenda del tiempo'. A few hours later the guitarist from Almería demonstrated the full extent of his musical abilities along with the elite of flamenco's youth contingent. Paco Millan's documentary about the Japanese guitarist and impresario Teruo which was shown in the afternoon ended with the wedding of Manuela Carrasco's daughter Samara, the same young woman who that night followed in her mother's footsteps singing and dancing in the great hall of the Colegio de Médicos on the third day of the third 'Flamenco pa' tos' festival.

'Minarete', "a Mozarabic tour of our life" was the theme with which José Antonio Galicia and company filled out the night. Galicia stood in as a Moslem calling to prayer backed up by the grooooooaning of the bass. Echoes in the semicircle and flashes of plato and derbuka, voice and tablas, silence and guitar playing. And some arrangements with gong and brushes, ring-shots and bongos... Galicia and his gadgets, Galicia with his dissonances. Galicia and intelligent percussion. And that melody traced by Arcadio Marín's guitar... 'Amarrados', a theme which is also included in the prize-winning 'Tres en raya', interwove seguiriyas, tangos and bulerías with no visible seams, beginning with subtlety, moving on to high tension and closing with a progressive search for silence (see on-line video).

Manuela Carrasco (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
José Antonio Galicia and group (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

Whistling, cheers, 'oles' and unbridled enthusiasm welcomed the second up: Tomatito. Withdrawn and alone for the taranta, his face hidden behind a cascade of curls. A strum hints at bulerías. Cajón and compás. Out-of-this-world guitar-playing... it's too much. The ovation fuels the fire and he's enjoying himself. The dream team is now complete: Diego Amador on the electric bass; Potito's cante; Bernardo Parrilla's violín; Joselito Fernández keeping compás; and Lucky on the cajón. Tangos. Balance, communication, fluidity. Potito charges forth with his crushing lament -impossible not to recall the boy from La Isla- "up to his waist in snow". Later melted with the help of a cheering audience. That flamenco violin, that cerebral bass. Guitar and violin speak of a 'Manantial'. Potito holds down second guitar, Diego Amador the mandola, Tomate takes off (bless those correspondence courses for guitar)... Accomplices all, and all for one. Then Argentine sounds with that 'Vacilona' which swaggers its way through rumbas. And the audience bursts into applause.

The mood is set for receiving Manuela Carrasco after a whole decade without visiting the capital... according to reliable sources (um... Gomaespuma that is). Her majesty awaits seated, with her head partially bowed, letting the compás soak in. One of the singers catches her interest... and she rises from the seat stopping time, cutting it, steeping on it. Her arms skyward; head held high. And Enrique el Extremeño rocks her like the Virgin at dawn. When she finishes, Samara Amador breaks out with tangos, singing and dancing up front. Not only beauty is inherited. The cuadro continues with bulerías making time for a hurried wardrobe change. Bobote executes his little electric dance, all compás. "Olé Bobote!" Potito shouts to him from the front row. "Oxygen!" begs the other. The rhythm slows down...and her majesty appears draped in roses, striking, with her impressive countenance and imposing presence. The silences are priceless, incredible closings pulled off with only a glance. And of course, those carefully rationed-out bursts of footwork. Bobote knowledgeably doubling the rhythm. And the characteristic stroll in counter-time, and the hip movement and the bullfighter's posture... Two ears and a tail.

And if they were grateful for the support of their little school in Calcutta, we were all grateful for this outsized gift of flamenco. Who's giving to whom? Thank you Gomaespuma.

Donations for Gomaespuma's Foundation in Calcuta
Bank: Bankinter (Spain). Account number: 0128 4446 12 0100000664

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