NIÑA PASTORI. PRESENTATION
OF THE ALBUM ‘ESPERANDO VERTE’
Flamenco for the masses
Silvia Calado. Madrid, March 23rd, 2009
‘Esperando verte’. Niña
Pastori: cante. Manuel Monge: guitar. Chaboli:
guitar, mandola, percussion. Adrian Schinoff: keyboards.
Katumba, Ramón Torres: percussion. Samara Amaya,
Ana Núñez: choruses. Antonio Ramos ‘Maca’:
bass. Teatro Rialto. Madrid, March 23rd, 2009. 9 p.m.
It was the third and last Monday which,
taking advantage of the weekly break of the musical ‘Enamorados
anónimos’ and its bright stage design, Niña
Pastori attended the Teatro Rialto in Madrid to present
her new album live. It wasn’t the day with the largest
audience, but it was, as she herself noted, the warmest
one. And that sensation was maximized in the countless encores
with tremendous ovations... por bulerías, por tangos,
por ‘Como el agua’. But that was just the peak
of a performance which took place ‘in crescendo’
amidst olés and blessings to an artist who knows
how to deserve her place and who has the secret of paving
the way towards flamenco for the masses.
Niña Pastori
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Niña Pastori
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Accompanied by a group made up of new flamenco
blood (Monges, Amayas and Rancapinos), pop-rock accompaniment
and the cornerstone which is Chaboli, the cantaora - who
is one more so here than ever before - split up the third
presentation of her seventh album into two halves. She performed
the first part seated on a rush-bottomed chair, letting
her voice rest and letting herself fall on the jondo side.
It isn’t that she sang the soleares or the mineras
on the album, but she did opt for the fandangos after tuning
up her instrument with the bulerías ‘Pintaré
de azul’, the alegrías ‘Somos marineros’
and ‘Imposible’ from her previous ‘No
hay quinto malo’. Not taking anything away from
the first three measures, in which she already thrilled
and delighted the audience, it was in those Huelva airs
where she nailed it. Brave, tense, sweet, perfect. In those
phases she received compliments... and some “God bless
you!” or other.
Chaboli (Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Manuel Monge (Photo Daniel
Muñoz) |
And taking advantage of the climax created,
she stayed in a slow tempo for the bulería ‘Vagabundo’
(which is played by Vicente Amigo in the recording) and
for the song por tangos ‘Me he vuelto a levantar’.
Then she let the band do their own thing with some progressive-style
bulerías. And she returned changing the chair for
some dizzying heels, the black overalls for a voluptuous
white dress, her pinned hair for loose waves and all possible
distance for the most involving proximity to the audience.
She is fully aware that she is lucky to have had that fidelity
since she was practically a little girl: “I’m
happy singing and I feel loved by you... that’s the
greatest thing an artist can have”. Going out to them
was her version of Alejandro Sanz’s ‘Cuando
nadie me ve’, which she embellishes with her flamenco
lilt and her echo-caress.
-Oh, what concentration (said María
from up on stage)
-It makes you want to cry (said a fan from the audience)
-Well, it’s OK to cry sometimes, but let’s laugh,
for life is really beautiful... (responded the artist)
And then the tone of the concert turned
towards the purest ‘Pastori’ style, that of
her rumbas and flamenco-pop tangos, the kind which brighten
up life and shake people up in their seats. ‘Dime
quién soy yo’ off her album ‘María’,
‘Capricho de mujer’ on the new album which she
celebrates her recent motherhood with, the now emblematic
songs ‘Amor de San Juan’ and ‘Puede ser’
which the crowd didn’t hesitate to sing in chorus
and, as a finishing touch, the very lively ‘Esperando
verte’ entitling the new record. A rush which only
harangued the audience to ask for more and more and more.
Then with the entire theater on its feet and marking the
beat for her, she sang ‘Enamorada’, gave thanks,
got even closer to the edge of the stage, and bade farewell
up to three times with her respective circles of the now
unplugged group and feeling like partying. She made room
for everyone, but especially for the girls, Samara Amaya
and Ana Núñez, potential cantaoras with lineage,
energy and future. But the final touch was provided by her,
grabbing the ruffles of her dress, remembering Camarón
and sharing a little dance with Chaboli. They left happy
as did those who’d paid for a ticket. You could see
it on their faces as they strolled up Gran Vía.
