2005 MONT DE MARSAN FLAMENCO FESTIVAL.
RAFAEL CAMPALLO / ‘IGLESIAS’

Euphoria all the way around

Silvia Calado. Mont de Marsan, July 7th, 2005

‘Juntos’ (‘Together’). Rafael Campallo & Pastora Galván: baile. Jeromo Segura, David Lagos, José Valencia: cante. Juan Campallo: guitar. José Carrasco: percussion. ‘Iglesias’. Eugenio, Paco and Miguel Iglesias: guitars. Manuela Reyes: baile. Guillermo Manzano, José Ángel Carmona: cante. El Roque: percussion. Place St Roch Singing Café. Mont de Marsan (France), July 7th, 2005. 7:30 p.m.

Rafael Campallo and Pastora Galván (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

The singing café went back to its old self once more, with its little tables, its wooden chairs, its warm ambience. And it might have had something to do with the crowd's euphoric devotion. But just something. The rest was brought by Rafael Campallo and Pastora Galván, ‘Juntos’ (‘Together’) in a simple baile show that triumphed at the market in Place St Roch. The Sevillian bailaor was originally scheduled to share the show ‘Campallerías’ with his sister Adela at Mont de Marsan, but a car accident she had is going to keep the bailaora from working for some time. And Pastora Galván was a brilliant alternative, as her partner gratefully owned up to. She won over the audience with classical, terribly flamenco, furiously feminine baile. Hands. Hips. Shoulders. A gesture. From head to toes. Her curve overdone, withdrawing beautifully. And those softened details from the ‘israel’ factory. She danced a taranto which went from hesitation to full bloom in the finish through tangos, one of the styles she best masters. One. And then the surprise came with the cantiñas, which she danced decked out in a dazzling red bata de cola. She came out ready to triumph... and she managed to do so. With guts, temperament, flirting, femininity. And the group at the rear, boosting the baile to the max.

Pastora Galván (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

And so, with the ambience red-hot, Rafael Campallo came back out on stage. His first solo number, following the brief spoken introduction with the bailaora, was a serious seguiriya. Baile in a straight line, unhurried, one hundred percent masculine. Balance. Precision. And baile and more baile, non-stop. Few are fit enough to be machines on stage. He performed the farruca with moderation, without skimping on air. The plasticity ahead of him. The crowd had already surrendered at the bailaores' feet in the soleá. Intensity on and off the stage. The female section, out of control (as can be seen in the attached online video). They nailed the bulerías regardless of any technical obstacles. The group's devotion is such that Campallo has to stop dancing a second time so as to listen to an uncontainable José Valencia. The front row, consisting of twenty-some artists from Utrera, adds to the atmosphere. Crescendo. And the circle is closed as Pastora and Rafael meet up again for the grand finale. The crowd doesn't hesitate a moment to stand up and applaud them both, as well as to offer Adela Campallo a warm applause.

	Photo: Daniel Muñoz

If baile took over the stage in the second half of the evening, guitar was in charge of the first half. ‘Iglesias’ is a production in the festival in which three brothers - Eugenio, Miguel and Paco - display three different ways of performing flamenco guitar, always within obvious classicism. They placed individual bets on the table and shared ones in tandems and threesomes, which spiced up the performance somewhat. Seguiriyas, bulerías, tangos, alegrías, rumbas... there was a little bit of everything. And all of it embellished with cante and baile. The concert was provided with a curious touch by the audience following the concert on a giant screen next to the buffet. Paella, potato omelette and sangría were companions to certainly bear in mind.

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