1st TENERIFE FLAMENCO FESTIVAL. REVIEW AND PHOTOS

Jerez in the Trade Wind

Ezequiel Paz. Tenerife, June 12th, 2005

1st Tenerife Flamenco Festival. Andrés Peña, baile; Mercedes Cortés, Luis Moneo and Miguel Rosendo, cante; Javier Patino and Ricardo Rivera, guitars; Paquito González: percussion. Guest artists: Rafael de Utrera and Pilar Ogalla. Tenerife Auditorium (Canary Islands, Spain), Saturday, June 11th and Sunday, June 12th, 2005

Flamenco quintessence and masculinity. Bursts of genius and temper. That was what was equally contributed by bailaor Andrés Peña and cantaor Luis Moneo in the 1st Flamenco Festival at Tenerife Auditorium, which wanted to thus pay tribute to that source of great flamenco personalities which is the School of Jerez. The Chamber Room at the Tenerife coliseum was moved before Peña's sublime esthetics, was exalted with Moneo's tientos and fandangos and vibrated with Javier Patino's unrivalled strings. The festival also contributed two master classes and a round-table where the family tree of the Sordera, the Agujetas and the Moneo families was climbed, and where the echoes of tarantas and tangos sounded, softened by the winds of the Atlantic.

Andrés Peña and group (Photo: Tenerife Auditorium)

It was implicit in the title of his show: ‘Pe-ña’, but the bailaor ended up clearing up the matter in the preceding press conference. “I myself am Peña; my baile, this show doesn't follow any storyline, it adjusts to flamenco in pure form, which it pays tribute to, and whose most genuine side and which is most lived is what I try and offer”. No storyline or plot was needed; the Gordian knot of Peña's baile lies in the force in each and every one of his steps, the temperance and rigor with which he flies over the cadence of tangos with his shoes. Opening fire were the tangos ‘Mora’, arranged by Javier Patino, who at the same time acted as musical director for the evening. Squeezed into a dark-toned suit and vest, Peña rose above the festive rhythm of tangos until the appearance of the first guest artist, Pilar Ogalla, who he proudly faced off with.

The bare, neat, thoughtful martinete arrived in the voices of Mercedes Cortés, Miguel Rosendo and Rafael de Utrera, who wrapped up the ripping and lordliness of Peña's turns measured to the beat. Within a few measures the tempo doubled up, and what had been a heartrending litany at the beginning started to take on rhythmic force and progressive dance significance. The absence of instruments in this style gives the cante solemnity which rewards the silence, and Andrés Peña seems to have fully assumed that.

Some tarantas followed, the romance ‘De Jerez a Utrera’ and some alegrías, ‘Remolinos’, where each flourish, beat and strumming were followed up by a dazzling response on baile. Peña not only didn't slacken, he grew every moment, as much so as the shadow theater his body projected upon the cutting white of the theater's side walls. The boards suffered the chronometric heel tapping of Ogalla Peña, and those attending arched their backs, sighed and gave their approval.

Andrés Peña and Pilar Ogalla (Photo: Auditorio de Tenerife)

And that's where we were when Luis Moneo made his appearance, this time devoted exclusively to cante – let's recall that he is also an accomplished guitarist who has accompanied his brother El Torta on numerous occasions. Master of a concise, crystal-clear cante, without too much showing off or embellishment, Moneo measures out his energy very well and puts the accents where they need to go. Moneo went on singing tientos, tangos, soleás, fandangos and Jerez bulerías, and with a firm wrist Javier Patino and Ricardo Rivera knew how to second him on guitar and Paquito González on box drum and darbuka.

At the end, a very closed ovation for all, with a special regard for Andrés Peña, who brought the crowd to its feet. Santa Cruz thus managed to revive its folkloric flamenco ancestors, those whose reminiscence is still heard in some isas, folias and habaneras in the archipelago. Tenerife kicked off through bulerías. See you next year. We hope.

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