20th MONT DE MARSAN FLAMENCO FESTIVAL 2008
'DE LA MAR AL FUEGO'
The twentieth journey
Silvia Calado. Mont de Marsan, July 11th, 2008
Mont de Marsan 2008. Photo gallery(3), by Daniel Muñoz
'De la mar al fuego' . Cádiz: Mariana Cornejo, El Junco, David Palomar, Keko Baldomero, Roberto Jaén, Abel Harana. Jerez: Luis el Zambo, Andrés Peña, Luis Moneo, Javier Patino, Alfredo Lagos, Alfonso Carpio. Lebrija: El Lebrijano, Concha Vargas, José Valencia, Pedro Peña, Curro Vargas, Vicente Peña. Utrera: Pepa de Benito, Carmen Ledesma, Rafael de Utrera, Antonio Moya, Javier Vargas, Jesús Peña. Seville: José de la Tomasa, Milagros Mengíbar, Juan Reina, Manolo Sevilla, Rafael Rodríguez, Antonio Carrión. Host: Tomasito. Director: Javier Puga. 20th Mont de Marsan Flamenco Festival 2008. Espace François Mitterrand. Mont de Marsan (France), July 11th, 2008. 9 p.m.
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'De la mar al fuego' (Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
It all began with a reminder in off of those who had been there, but had already left: Camarón , La Paquera, Fernanda, Pedro Bacán, Gaspar de Utrera... Since 'De la mar al fuego' ('From Sea to Fire') - which will also be seen at Seville's upcoming Bienal - turned out to be a summary of the flamenco which has been displayed at the Mont de Marsan Festival over the last twenty years. And the thing is that the stress has always been on the original 'triangle', that part of Andalusia which has its vertices in Cádiz, Jerez and Seville, with Utrera and Lebrija in between. And a show conceived as a journey could not be undertaken without a 'cicerone'. Et voilà Tomasito.
The announcement is Pepa de Benito, singing a whining lullaby full of embraces. The travelers having gathered, the journey begins. On the seashore, in the lands of La Perla, of Beni de Cádiz... and "¡torrotrón!". So composed, so bright, Mariana Cornejo sprinkles the stage with salt from the Bay, with artful half-rapped, half-danced tanguillos. A delight which inspires David Palomar's cante and El Junco's baile por alegrías. The bailaor excels with his perfect balance between stylization and insolence.
Pepa de Benito (Foto Daniel Muñoz)
A stop in Jerez. The script speaks about wine resting, about not everything being bulería... But what is Tomasito without the bulería. And between words, he riles up an invaluable scuffle with compás. The rest would be provided by Luis el Zambo por seguiriyas, with Javier Patino's silky guitar. An express route, but significant. Luis Moneo would take over on cante to sing soleá por bulerías for the compact baile of Andrés Peña, already seen the previous night.
"It's a delight for me to introduce these artists", Tomasito recognizes away from the lectern. Next station: Lebrija. Next artist: El Lebrijano . And the "fine salty water" which for some goes por taranta, for Juan Peña takes the shape of tientos. And he chews the cante, maintaining its climate and tempo. Then the momentum was provided by José Valencia, Mont de Marsan's official cantaor and a happy person. He devoted his swollen echo por romances to bailaora Concha Vargas. His energies are understood in this piece which was a play on intensities.
Talking about Pepa de Benito, Tomasito says that "her cante is truthful". And that's what her soleá sounds like; old-fashioned, motherly, authentic. Rafael de Utrera brimmed over with vitality and good form in the cante for Carmen Ledesma's still baile based on a swirling shawl. "Remember, Carmen", Pepa cheers her on.
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El Junco, Carmen Ledesma, Milagros Mengíbar, Concha Vargas yand Andrés Peña (Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
"What quality!", the host exclaims. And he heads for Seville, mentioning the era of the singing cafés, the art of La Niña de los Peines, Los Cagancho and Manolo Caracol. José de la Tomasa leaves for the forge in Triana. Immense cante por toná at the foot of the stage. And following the heartrending singing, the neatness of the Sevillian school of baile. Milagros Mengíbar displays image and classicism. The caña with a bata de cola closes the journey to the foot of La Giralda... or nearly so. Because Tomasito would provide an epilogue with his brilliant show of sung, danced, rapped, uttered compás. "I'm going!". But where he was going was back to the stage where a row of thirty other artists was waiting, the sight of whom took the breath away from the fifteen hundred enthusiasts filling up the Espace François Mitterrand. Imagine the grand finale. Absolutely memorable. See you in the twenty-first year, here in the flamenco land of Mont de Marsan.
Mont de Marsan 2008. Photo gallery (3), by Daniel Muñoz
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El Junco
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Luis el Zambo
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Concha Vargas
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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Mariana Cornejo
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Pepa de Benito
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
El Junco and Tomasito
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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Andrés Peña
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Tomasito
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Grand finale
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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And tomorrow…
· Hall de Nauques (10 p.m.)
Recital by Nano de Jerez / 'Maestros': El Junco, Pastora Galván , Andrés Peña, Keko Baldomero, Javier Patino, David Palomar, David Lagos
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