2007 FLAMENCO PA’TOS FESTIVAL
NIÑO JOSELE, MARINA HEREDIA, BELÉN LÓPEZ
Between wind and earth
S.C. Madrid, July 17th, 2007
Photo gallery, by Daniel
Muñoz
Niño Josele and Pablo
Martín (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
Having overcome the excitement of the
inauguration, Flamenco pa’Tos 2007 went back to
normal with a showcase of young talents. One on guitar,
one on cante, one on baile. Niño
Josele broke the ice... so to speak, since this stage
is so very warm. The Almería-born tocaor took several
pieces from the peculiar tribute he pays to jazz player
Bill Evans on his latest album, ‘Paz’. And
he did so accompanied by Borja on drums, Pablo Martín
on contrabass, and when the bulería came knocking
at the door, Piraña on box drum. This approach
to the piano of the “great poet”, as Bebo
Valdés calls him, gives the guitar an ethereal
nature, a point of vagueness which perhaps strips it of
its inseparable grasp. With the drums merely for ambience,
all the weight is transferred to the hands of the contrabass,
with a body and solidity which saved the pieces from complete
destitution. The Basque instrumentalist - a member of
the Gerardo Núñez Trio - had to do no less
than the main melody of the version of Paco de Lucía’s
‘Zyryab’, done starting off with the second
guitar of the song which Niño Josele currently
performs in the maestro’s tours. That and the bulerías
managed to move an audience pleased with the winds, but
anxious to pick up vibrations.
| |
Marina Heredia
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Marina
Heredia made it much clearer. The Granada-born cantaora
went straight to the point, showing the audience ‘La
voz del agua’. Backed by José Quevedo on
guitar, Alexis Lèfevre on violin and two clappers-choruses,
she kicked off with ‘Balada del que nunca fue a
Granada’, an impressive poem by Alberti which warms
up her voice, which envelops the crowd, admiring so much
beauty. Just her picture, wow. She sketches out the soleá
step by step, without theatrics. She gilds it slowly,
until “the mirror you look at yourself in”,
where she breaks, where she rips. Now she breaks free
from the chair, now she stands up the mike, now she eats
up the stage... bullfighter style. Now she grasps her
polka-dot skirt, now come the tangos ‘granaínos’.
Oh yeah. Her Moorish ‘ay’, her voice swinging,
her hands fluttering in the air, her experienced quejío.
Marina and tangos, all as one. A poem by Bergamín
finishes off the job. But coming out to the center of
the ring, without a break. And the crowd rises to its
feet and cheers her on. “A lovely, courageous granaína!”.
Martinete. Silence. Olé.
Belén López
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
|
A breather in the Patio de Cajal, with
a flamenco dj included, and back to the stage. If Marina
Heredia was the matador, Belén
López is the bull. The very young Catalan bailaora
shoots out of the bullpen ripping up the ground. Going
for it all. Following a brief prelude with a shawl and
train, she goes in for the kill. First, soleá por
bulerías. Then, wearing trousers and a short jacket,
por alegrías (with a break by the group in between).
With complete conviction, she goes along the floor and
bases her entire performance on earth. Blank, dizzying,
acrobatic baile. Hodgepodge, pirouettes, leaps, syncopation.
Everything clean, swift and sweated-out, giving it her
all. And the audience responding every time it was called
on to do so... so many times that it didn’t know
how to make out the end.
Photo
gallery. Festival Flamenco pa'tos 2007
Click the images to enlarge |
|
 |
 |
| Marina
Heredia
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
|
Niño
Josele
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
Alexis
Lefevre
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
| |
|
|
| Belén
López
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
|
Belén
López
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
Marina
Heredia
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
|
|
