MÁLAGA EN FLAMENCO 2007. 'A LAS
SEIS Y SIETE EN PUNTO DE LA TARDE'
A complete evening
Julián Benavides, Ronda Bullring, September 15th,
2007
Original idea, script and directing:
José Luis Ortiz Nuevo. Baile: Manolete, Javier
Barón, Isabel Bayón, Rafael Campallo, Rocío
Molina. Cante: Chano Lobato, Carmen Linares, Calixto Sánchez,
“El Pele”, Bonela Jr., Juan José Amador,
Miguel Ortega. Guitars: Manolo Franco, Gaspar Rodríguez,
Manuel Silverio, Felipe Maya, Juan Diego, Javier Patino,
Jesús Torres, Basilio García, Juan Campillo.
Sax and flute: Jorge Pardo, Cello: Nicasio Moreno. Actors:
Juanma Lara, Kity Manver. Music in the ring: Ntra. Sra.
de la Paz Band (Málaga)
Isabel Bayón at Plaza
de Toros de Ronda (Photo Quino Castro)
There have been other times when flamenco
has been at bullrings, in some cases with a bullfight
included; but the show last Saturday closing the “Siete
Maravillas” Series of this biennial festival was
something special. In the first place, it was at the very
bullring of Ronda, a luxurious stage where a real star
lineup had to be gathered for the very original show by
José Luis Ortiz Nuevo. The result: a complete,
unique evening which won’t be forgotten by those
who lived it. And not because of what was seen and heard
– which was good and plentiful -, but rather due
to what was lived and felt: a genuine celebration which
spread throughout the ring, the dirt, the seats, the bullpen
… Cante, toque and baile with the addition of words,
the band with its pasodobles, the sax, the flute and the
cello. All of them ringing out with an old-time flamenco
aftertaste, just like the stones of this beautiful ring.
The show consisted of nearly a dozen
and a half performances which were offered from different
angles of the bullring and from the very center of the
dirt, where the concentric circles of a bullfight had
been drawn upon a stage. The dancing was there: farruca
for Manolete, elegant and stately; the mirabrás
offered by Chano
Lobato for Javier Barón, loose and lively;
the caña for Rafael Campillo, spirited and cheeky
and the taranto by Carmen
Linares for Isabel Bayón, inspired and
delightful in the finish por tangos. Then at the end,
the four of them would offer a unique martinete (Manolete’s
trademark) times four. Right at the beginning, Rocío
Molina had established a delicate dialogue por malagueñas
with the guitar of Manolo Franco, who looked at her from
the opposite tier of seats. Different inspirations to
recall Antonio Ruiz Soler. Also from the dirt, Jorge
Pardo– a polo on baritone sax with Juan
Diego’s guitar - and above all, an impressive
flute solo in which he played to Falla and Ravel backed
by the beat of some old bulerías de Cádiz.
Also from the dirt, Nicasio Moreno’s cello played
the serrana.
Jorge Pardo at Plaza de Toros
de Ronda (Photo Quino Castro)
The cante soared high from the very start.
From the seats, Calixto, El Pele and Bonela Jr. rivaled
one another por fandangos, and from the bullpen, Carmen
Linares recalled Paca Aguilera por malagueñas.
Much of this cante – as was proper – had the
bullring, bullfighting and the venue as a reference calling
back to times past.
The evening was long in scenes and movements,
but with great work in the directing, everything flowed
so that nothing was tiresome. A matter of art. The return
to the ring was the beginning. A unique parade by all
the artists was welcomed with cheers. And at the end –
after Chano, from a horse-drawn carriage, told the crowd
how Espeleta, in a really drunken state, created tirititrán-,
the very participating artists would create their own
ring, an inner circle for the final encounter of a show
which led them to every possible nook and cranny of the
bullring. You had to be there to see it. The echoes will
remain in the ears of those who did so, as will the unique
pictures in their memory.
Isabel Bayón at
Plaza de Toros de Ronda (Photo Quino Castro)
