FESTIVAL DE JEREZ 2008. ‘MAESTROS’,
MANOLO SANLÚCAR • EL GÜITO
Shared pain
Silvia Calado. Jerez, March 8th, 2008
‘Maestros’. ‘Dos
generaciones’, El Güito: baile,
choreography, artistic director. Ángela Españadero:
baile. José Jiménez, Roberto Lorente: cante.
Pepe Maya, Juan Serrano, Basilio García: guitar.
Miguel Téllez: clapping, baile/ ‘El alma
compartida’, Manolo Sanlúcar:
guitar, music. David Carmona: second guitar. Carmen Grilo:
cante. Rafael Hermoso: percussion. 12th Festival de Jerez.
Teatro Villamarta. Jerez (Cádiz, Spain), March
8th, 2008. 9 p.m.
Manolo Sanlúcar
(Foto Daniel Muñoz) |
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Merche Esmeralda’s soleá,
Dospormedio & Compañía’s dance
burst, Isabel Bayón and Miguel Poveda’s pasodoble,
Israel Galván’s drumming dance, David Lagos’s
version of the milonga de El Sevillano, María del
Mar Moreno’s ‘Piensa en mí’ por
bulerías, David Palomar’s pregón de
Macandé, packaged Tío Borrico … Throughout
the sixteen intense days of flamenco offered by the 12th
Festival de Jerez, there have been countless moments whose
images have remained etched in our memory. But there’s
one which remained further within. And it was the painful
retirement of Manolo
Sanlúcar.
He had already warned of it in the title
of his recital, which is the same as that of his written
autobiography. He shares his soul. And if it’s hurt,
he also shares that grief. He suffered in each score,
in each push. Even so, he managed to get across the grandeur
of his top two works to the audience: 'Tauromagia'
and ‘Locura de brisa y trino’. Until a moment
came when he couldn’t go on any more. And he said
it like this: “A man who has many flaws like I do
wants to have the virtue of honesty, of sincerity. I feel
really bad, really bad, and I don’t want to go on
playing like that. We’re going to do ‘Campo’
to finish our performance”. Something hurt inside
all of us.
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El Güito (Photo
Daniel Muñoz) |
With that chill the festival closed as
well as the night, whose first half was occupied by El
Güito. The Madrilenian bailaor once again recalled
his two star bailes: the farruca and the soleá.
With sober ways and a nostalgic air, he took the stage
of the Villamarta back a few decades once more. It was
just like that. But on this occasion he changed the title
- ‘Dos generaciones’ - and accompanying bailaora.
Sevillian Ángela Españadero faced with ease
the challenge of kicking things off, with an efficient
solo por tarantos; and that of starring in the crux of
the story, with powerful alegrías in a bata de
cola. And the crowd knew how to recognize her effort and
her art with timely applause. Not many lines have been
dedicated to that handful of thousands of people who have
filled the main venue in Jerez throughout the festival,
but their applause, whether it was out of enjoyment, respect
or understanding, also deserves mentioning. Without an
audience, we wouldn’t be here.
SALA
COMPAÑÍA
Mayte Bajo, ‘Bocabajo’
Mayte Bajo
(Photo
Daniel Muñoz)
Spanish dance opened and
closed the series ‘Con nombre propio’
at the Sala Compañía. Two weeks
after it was inaugurated by Lola Greco with
‘Deoperaflamenco’, dancer Mayte
Bajo performed her show ‘Bocabajo’
to the sound of the live music played for
her by guitarist José
Luis Montón.
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