|
2005 MONT DE MARSAN FLAMENCO FESTIVAL. ‘LAS TRES MIL’
Flamenco colony
Silvia Calado. Mont de Marsan, July 9th,
2005
‘Las Tres Mil’. Cante: Angelita Montoya,
Ismael Fernández. Baile: El Torombo. Guitar: José
Carrillo ‘Fiti’. Cante and baile: Noemí
and Susi Vizárraga, Purificación Cruz. Contrabass:
Miguel Vargas. Box drum: Antonio Barrul. Clapping and artistic
direction: Bobote. ‘El cuadro de la fiesta’ (‘The
Party Group’). Baile: Manuela Reyes and Jairo Barrul.
Cante: José Valencia, Guillermo Manzano, María
Peña. Guitar: Antonio Moya, Eugenio Iglesias. Cante,
Baile and clapping: Luis Peña, Nono Manzano, Javier
Vargas. Nahuques Hall. Mont de Marsan (France), July 9th,
2005. 10 p.m.
Photo: Daniel Muñoz
The more you come to Mont de Marsan, the more you're convinced
that it's a little plot of Andalusian territory transplanted
slightly north of the Pyrenees. It's been proving so for seventeen
years with a flamenco festival which, edition after edition,
reaffirms its place among the main events of the jondo art.
And it is so for several reasons. On the one hand, because
it takes place thanks to a following which is respectful,
expert and eager for genuineness. All the tickets were sold
for these six intense evenings of flamenco, mostly to an audience
which reserves its season tickets a year ahead of time. All
in all, over six thousand people attended this edition. And
there were nearly three hundred students registered for the
courses, which confirms the festival as a strong venue for
training.
On the other hand, because it upholds program criteria with
a balance of different trends. There were current stars such
as Sara Baras and Diego
el Cigala, but also artists who are beginning to come
into their own and need an outlet to display their solo shows,
as was the case of José Valencia and Carmen Grilo,
Antonio Rey and José Maya. There was flamenco with
contemporary overtones, but also the most old-fashioned tradition.
Also, different formats to set it in: from the spaciousness
of Espace François Mitterrand to the intimacy of the
Singing Café, not to mention the tent at Town Hall
Square for the local groups. And cante, baile and toque were
placed at the same level. Lastly, because the organization
does exquisite work. Without realizing it, it does something
which doesn't exist at any other flamenco event: promoting
the coexistence of artists with journalists, artists with
artists, artists and journalists with other professionals
from the sector (technicians, agents, drivers, organizers...),
with students, with enthusiasts. It's unusual to see a front
row full of flamencos in the audience cheering on flamenco
artists. And it happens here. In the backstage, in the Auberge
Landaise dining room, at the School of Music and Dance, at
the hotels... there is communication between all these elements
which you can just find here. The city itself also contributes
to creating this ambience. Even the shops and restaurants
get involved, decorating their window displays with flamenco
motifs or adding Spanish courses and drinks to the week's
menu. And the ‘Spanishization’ has only just begun.
The flamenco festival is the prelude to the Magdalene Festival
that now begins, with a first-rate bullfighting calendar consisting
of top-notch Spanish matadors and, as the tourist brochure
states, with “thousands of partiers crowding the wine
bars and tents”.
Photo: Daniel Muñoz
Neighborhood nest
The closing dinner of the 2005 Mont de Marsan Flamenco Festival
was still further proof. One thousand two hundred people gathered
at Nahuques Hall to dine and enjoy a double flamenco show
over five hours. Now then, the stage wasn't lit up until stomachs
were filled with potato omelette, grilled prawns and sangría.
While the meal lasted, you had to settle for the slideshow
of photos taken live in this edition projected on a giant
screen, which recalled the flamenco highlights enjoyed throughout
the week. The first ones to take the stage were a group of
young artists from Las Tres Mil, directed by Bobote. The added
value is that some of them take part in a professional training
program specializing in flamenco which is held in the Sevillian
neighborhood. The very young Noemí Vizárraga
is living proof that the project is working. Heartily and
with feeling, she sang tangos, a song by Niña
Pastori and bulerías, embellished by her little
bit of baile. Her trio partners, Susi Vizárraga and
Puri Cruz, didn't stay far behind, each of them showing her
own way of guiding cante, zeroing in on such different references
as Remedios Amaya and Mayte Martín.
| |
Photo: Daniel Muñoz |
| |
|
They had a mirror to look at themselves in right there. Angelita
Montoya, La Negra's daughter and Lole's sister, sang soleá
and bulerías solo, with the family trademark in the
timbre and some lyrics taken from Lole
y Manuel's discography. Fiti, María Pagés'
official guitarist, took care of harmonizing each score with
efficient, creative toque. There was also baile. Torombo came
out wildly to open with alegrías, but the one who really
offered essence was Bobote, the compás wizard. A praiseworthy
enterprise which has a foreseeably prosperous future. Following
a brief break, the flamenco continued with a rehashed group
of artists who had already performed in the past few days.
José Valencia still had it in him. Jairo Barrul danced
soleá once again. María Peña performed
Pinini's
cantiñas from the night before. Javier Vargas repeated
the slowed-down dance through bulerías. Etcetera. ‘The
Party Group’ lived up to its name and provided the festival
with a lively close, just when everyone's strength had begun
to slacken. On the last night there surely wasn't even a late-night
party at Peña Quehupa. After midnight, even the technicians
were singing as they cleared the stage, “c’est
fini, c’est fini!”.
revista@flamenco-world.com
|
