MÁLAGA EN FLAMENCO 2007. TOMATITO,
‘CAMARONEANDO’
Guitar
with a sea backdrop
Silvia Calado. Málaga, August 28th, 2007
Photo
gallery. Tomatito at Playa del Palo, by Daniel Muñoz
‘Camaroneando’. Tomatito:
guitar. Potito, La Tana, Juan José Amador Jr.,
Morenito de Íllora, Ángeles Fernández:
cante. El Cristi: second guitar. Lucky Losada: percussion.
José Maya: baile. Málaga en Flamenco 2007.
Playa del Palo (Málaga), August 28th, 2007. 8 p.m.
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Tomatito (Photo Daniel
Muñoz)
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As if it were a blue Picasso painting.
Guitarist and sea. Neither night nor day. Liquefied white
and cyan. Wood, air and water. Notes and waves. If there’s
something curious about the Málaga en Flamenco
Festival, it’s the diversity of the locations for
the shows. And one of them is the very sand of the beach
Playa del Palo, with the sea as the backdrop. Coming to
break it in was Tomatito,
with a concert within the ‘Su homenaje’ series,
in theory dedicated to Paco de Lucía, but today,
in practice, dedicated to Camarón.
But no matter who the tributee was, it isn’t a question
of giving the Almería-born guitarist alibis. Giving
him a backdrop was enough.
And it couldn’t be more ideal.
A bluish-gray sea, toying with blending in with the sky.
The comings and goings of a live setting, with fishing
boats going out for the catch, sailboats letting the wind
work its will, seagulls, small airplanes, motorized paragliders,
(concert) stowaways at the jetty … And Tomatito,
wearing a white shirt, with long black hair and an orange
guitar, letting himself be framed. He went in for the
attack straight off. The entire group headfirst, sprinting
por alegrías. The audience (who, surprisingly,
doesn’t fill the venue) is forewarned. These flamencos
don’t beat around the bush. Then the tocaor calls
for a bit of solitude. The daylight dims little by little.
The guitar speaks of the mine, carbide, land … And
behind it, the sea speaks of fishing, nets, water …
Work, fatigue, solitude.
He won’t remain alone again. He
completes the first part of the concert with songs off
his last two albums, ‘Paseo de los castaños’
and ‘Aguadulce’. He has a varied range of
vocals (among them, Potito’s
superb voice), violin, percussion, the adornment of José
Maya’s fierce baile. Songs between soleá,
tangos and bulería (a lot), hyperbolizing the rhythm,
exuding the ferocity of the swell. Guitar, the center,
axis, order. And each falseta, a change of tone in the
sky and its mirroring sea. It’s nearly nightfall
after the break. Joining the band is La Tana, and in the
background, Camarón de la Isla, whose recorded
voice has rung out as a prelude and as intermission.
Tomatito & group (Photo
Daniel Muñoz)
More than the sea, now the moon is the
star. Round, swollen and yellow, toying with peeking out
from behind the clouds and hiding behind them. The fragile,
crystal-clear voice of Ángeles Fernández
calls out to it. “If I told the moon…”.
And lyrics reminiscent of Camarón are strung together,
much to the delight of the devoted crowd. If they’re
sung by Potito or Tana, La Isla’s natural successors,
much more eagerly. And the cantaor rises to the heavens.
And the moon peeks out once more. Tomatito guides them.
His, on earth. And he himself is perhaps guided from up
there. Or that’s what it seems like on this night
when music flies freely about the firmament, swaying the
boats dotting the black sea backdrop like fireflies. And
Camarón would then sing “the sailors are
leaving now…”.
Photo
gallery. Tomatito at Playa del Palo, by Daniel Muñoz
Click the images to enlarge |
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| Tomatito
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
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Potito
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
Tomatito
& Group
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
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| Tomatito
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
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José
Maya
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
Tomatito
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
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