‘Flamenco por Moraíto’ (and 2). Diego del Morao, José Mercé, Pitingo, Montse Cortés, Tomatito, Pepe Habichuela, Josemi Carmona, Carmen Linares, Navajita Plateá, Diego el Cigala, Cuadro de Jerez… Teatro Coliseum. Madrid, December 15th, 2011. 9 p.m.

José Mercé, Flamencos por Moraíto in Madrid II (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

“¡Viva Morao!”. Someone amidst the crowd cheered on Manuel Moreno Junquera when the excerpt of the documentary ‘El cante bueno duele’ ended which was shown as a prologue to the second night of the festival in his memory. In the footage, he had just played for María Bala por soleá in the living room of her house. Both of them ended up crying. And she told him: “You’re the best guitarist ever to be born in Jerez”. What was shown directly afterwards on stage at the Teatro Coliseum is that, moreover, he has left his school alive. Yes, today, Diego del Morao was the logical artist to open. And he played solo por bulerías, as much his own as of his maestro, under the attentive regard of his father, whose portrait, with a gesture more of his own, remained fixed as the backdrop until the end of the night. But the picture - triangular - would be completed later, with the appearance on stage of José Mercé, the cantaor who he was beside throughout his career. “I really miss him”, the artist said after asking for the greatest applause of the night for him. He expressed his feelings in a chilling soleá, a tremendous soleá whose lyrics related that without Moraíto, “the neighborhood of Santiago has lost its beat”. He finished the phase crying and half the theater gave him a standing ovation. And then he was healed por bulerías.

Diego del Morao, Flamencos por Moraíto en Madrid II (Foto Daniel Muñoz)

Diego didn’t budge from his place. Pitingo made use of his Jerez genes and sang por bulerías in honor of Moraíto. “What soniquete there has to be now in heaven!”, he exclaimed. But he didn’t leave without also offering him a sip of what he also is: a versatile performer with blessed glory in his throat. And with Cuban guitar by Yadam González, producer of his new album ‘Malecón Street’, he sang him that farewell ballad which is ‘Nosotros’. Montse Cortés, however, came in straight off por bulerías. Although she had an injured ankle, her voice was in perfect condition to make the crowd fall in love with those turns of hers which are a sign of modern gypsies. And then guitar. Tomatito, far from overwhelming with his hands, opted to pay tribute to his colleague with the utmost continence, performing the beautiful ‘Two Much Love Theme’. Next came the bulerías, with his vibrant self-medley leading up to ‘Manantial’. And the thing is that guitar was stressed in this second installment of the tribute. Following the second moves by El Torta and Fernando de la Morena, another top tocaor appeared: Pepe Habichuela. His temperance por soleá was followed by the groove of his son Josemi Carmona por tangos and by the song por bulerías ‘Dos puñales’, both on his solo début album ‘Las pequeñas cosas’.

Pitingo, Flamencos por Moraíto in Madrid II (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

And for the home stretch of a gala with much more order and calmness than the first one, cante returned. Carmen Linares dedicated ‘El niño yuntero’ by Miguel Hernández to him por malagueñas and rondeñas, plus a lively epilogue por cantiñas. But before singing, she remarked that “Moraíto was one of those artists who, through his greatness, quality and flamenco nature, has made me feel that I’m really lucky to belong to the flamenco world”. And she says so knowing full well what she’s talking about, since the Jerez-born artist was the one who accompanied her in the seguiriya by La Niña de los Peines ‘La horita llegó’ on ‘Antología. La mujer en el cante’. In another very different way, Navajita Plateá sang to him. The songs ‘Frío sin ti’ and ‘Poeta en Marrakesh’ were dedicated to the musician and, above all, “to the man”. The jondo isn’t something univocal. Diego el Cigala, one of the authors of this memorable double event, returned to finish off the gala por bulerías and to appeal to the “magic” of Moraíto the Great, whose family came out to share their emotion and their gratitude with the artists and audience, and whose Jerez gathered once more to remember him por fiesta. For him, the eternal bulería.

Moraíto's family, Flamencos por Moraíto in Madrid II (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

© Daniel Muñoz

José Mercé, 'Flamencos por Moraíto' (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

 

Pepe Habichuela, 'Flamencos por Moraíto' (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

 

Montse Cortés, 'Flamencos por Moraíto' (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

 

Tomatito, 'Flamencos por Moraíto' (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

 

Carmen Linares, 'Flamencos por Moraíto' (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

 

Pitingo, 'Flamencos por Moraíto' (Photo Daniel Muñoz)