2003 MONT DE MARSAN FLAMENCO ART FESTIVAL

Let the Show Begin!

Candela Olivo. Mont de Marsan (France), June 30th, 2003
Photos: Daniel Muñoz

'A Thousand and One Nights': Tito Losada Company. Guitar: Tito Losada, Diego Losada, Vaky Losada, Iván Losada and Pino Losada. Percussion: Luky Losada, Antón Suárez and Peluche. Lute and mandolin: Vaky Losada. Violin: José Gutiérrez. Contrabass: Antonio García. Kanú: Abdesselam Naeie. Cello: Sacha Crisán. Cante: Ángel Gabárrez, Guadiana, Macarena Giráldez. Baile: Gala Vivancos, Marta Fernández, Rosana Romero, Eva Bouvherite, Estefanía Palacios, Tamara González, Belén de la Quincana, Estefanía Lucena, Rafael Estévez, Nani Paños, Rafael Martos, Saulo Garrido, Francisco Pozo. Espace François Mitterrand. Mont de Marsan (France), June 30th, 2003. 9 p.m.

	'A Thousand and one nights'

The hustle and bustle of artists began to disturb the gentle course of the Midou River starting in the early afternoon. As the president of The Landes General Council, Henri Emmanueli, announced at the inauguration, "the festival has opened". And from that moment on, its doors were passed through. The first ones to go in were more than forty at a time, the members of the Tito Losada Company. Between all of them they managed to compose a flamencoized version of the oriental literary classic 'A Thousand and One Nights'. It kicked off the fifteenth edition of the Mont de Marsan Flamenco Art Festival on its center stage, Espace François Mitterrand.

Spectacular. If one adjective can define the show directed by the Losada brothers, it is undoubtedly spectacular. And the thing is that strictly speaking, it is neither flamenco, nor oriental, nor dance, nor theater... Perhaps all together it makes up a musical full of human resources and technicians which manages, with narrative simplicity, to take out a few excerpts from those stories which Sherezade saved his life with every night. A narrator in off -translated into French for the occasion - supported the narrative, as well as the wardrobe, and the physical and audiovisual scenography, which represented now the palace, now the harem, now the cave, now the sea... now the moonlit night. Despite all the appoggiatura, the rhythm had its weak spots, perhaps for being predictable, in spite of the thread of the whole.

Regarding the baile, the numerous collective choreographies stocking the show merely serve as ambience, featuring a forced hybrid between the movements of oriental dancing and flamenco. Some flamenco brushstrokes stand out among the individual numbers, some moments like the farruca and the rumbas of the 'Story of the Merchant and His Slave', which includes an intense three-way male duel; the bulerías of Aladdin; and the solos of Ali Baba through fandangos and seguidillas. The music fulfills the role as a soundtrack, faithful to the outlines of flamenco music made specifically for plays. With the indisputable leading role of the guitar - at times up to five are combined - and the soleá through bulerías as a recurring structure, an ambience is created and the plot is backed, with its moments of tension (in which the percussion bursts out), its passages of transition, its spaces for making the bed for love... because no doubt, except in the stories of Ali Baba and Aladdin, love and its companion, lack of affection, are the play's common thread. And the cante... The fact that Guadiana was present amidst this immense troupe was to be appreciated especially in the tangos and alegrías. A special mention also goes to Macarena Giráldez, that Sherezade who, as a singer, cantaora and narrator, oiled up the reading. "There was once a rich merchant who went into a market one day...". The summary concludes with the audience's response... The play was applauded at length, which in turn was answered with a double encore. There were those who approved it, although it is not flamenco, because of how spectacular it is. And there were those who, precisely because it is not flamenco, expressed their surprise that it was included in the festival. Things will be evened up next.

Fin de fiesta

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