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TERRITORIO FLAMENCO, LIVE
'Ad lib'
Silvia Calado. Madrid, April 12th, 2004
Photos: Daniel Muñoz
Territorio Flamenco (Flamenco Territory). Carmen
Linares, Miguel Poveda, Arcángel, La Susi, Diego Carrasco: cante. Juan
Carlos Romero, Diego de Morao, Alfredo Lagos: guitar. Israel Galván: baile.
Cepillo: percussion. Manolo Nieto: bass. José Mestre: keyboards. Jorge
García: drums. Ana María González, Carmen Amaya: choruses.
Lope de Vega Theater. Madrid, April 12th, 2004. 9:30 p.m.
Carmen Linares |
Diego Carrasco |
Flamenco dwells in a borderless territory. It grows there limitlessly, feeding
on everything that crosses its path: rock, pop, jazz, tango, ballads, poetry...
And returning it flamenco... flamenco and personal, since this could be called
federal territory. All of this is cooking in 'Territorio Flamenco', a show of
cante titans derived from the album of the same name which finally premiered at
Madrid's Lope de Vega Theater on a special night. Juan Valderrama had just died,
Carmen Linares' artistic sponsor, one of Miguel Poveda's main references... an
artist who, as José Manuel Gamboa said, exemplifies the "my way"
that this territorial experiment also takes as its motto. For him and for the
victims of the terrorist attack on March 11th - which postponed this concert,
originally scheduled for the Monday following the massacre - there was a minute
of silence.
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La Susi
Arcángel
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The mourning was prolonged a while longer, now with the first artists on stage.
Israel
Galván appeared in silence, sifting Cubist movements that had a sense
of seguiriya airs. Shortly thereafter, Arcángel, Diego de Morao and Cepillo
came to accompany him. The sober piece - not included in the album's repertoire,
like many others which would be performed - made the spirals the Huelva-born artist
traced with his throat fit in with the pointed straight stretches of Galván's
extraterrestrial dancing. Incredible. The first excerpt off the album would come
from La
Susi. The cantaora took her place, standing next to the keyboard, to do her
version of 'Roxanne' by The Police. And she sang it motionless, torn, splitting
her voice, as if in pain. She made gains in relation to the recorded version,
of rather mediocre production.
Taking over was Miguel
Poveda, singing his traditional repertoire of alegrías with which he
usually leaves the crowd gaping. This time, instead of Chicuelo, he had two other
toque aces together: Juan Carlos Romero and Moraíto Chico Jr. Next, both
would provide (beautiful) music for 'Cristales de luz negra' by Diego
Carrasco. The king of the heterodox appeared partially cutting those personal
alegrías Israel Galván came out to dance, the deconstruction of
movement. The audience was amused, was surprised... Carmen Linares struck back
on the serene, intimate side with 'Se equivocó la paloma' turned into a
song. The verses by Rafael Alberti were uttered elegantly, serenely, on a relaxed
flight that she alone can pilot.
Along the same lines, Arcángel
took back the microphone. Now he brought -taken off his new album 'La calle perdía'
- fandangos from his native region, from Alosno, another of those sub-territories
of flamenco. He left the audience trembling with his infinite quejío, with
his melodious, crystal-clear voice. The Alosno-born artist remained on stage,
together with Miguel Poveda, to perform on chorus in 'La
leyenda del tiempo' which La Susi came to revise in her most Camarón-like
register. A real high. And once again, the contrast. The Catalan sang a soothing,
sweet, clean song. "Chinese girl, hear the laments of this hapless lover".
The bailaor nipped the air with his sidelong dance, playing the music with guitarist
Alfredo Lagos, inserting a farruca into tangos or who knows what. It's not that
Israel has his own territory; it's that he has his own planet. Cheering and dancing
about, Diego Carrasco returned to action. A bulería air to sketch 'Cinco
toreros'. The Linares-born cantaora went on with the roundup through the mountains,
before Arcángel aimed straight at everyone's soft spot with 'La bien pagá'
through bulerías.
As equals
At this point, the performance was already getting long... And on top of it
all, La Susi forgot herself, cornering the stage more than she ought to have done.
She sang through bulerías of all colors, with such exceptional artists
on clapping such as Poveda and Arcángel. True it is that this sort of camaraderie,
this treatment as equals, is seldom seen on stage. Miguel Poveda would not be
long in guiding the evening again with the exceptional version of the tango by
Carlos Gardel 'Cuesta abajo'. Perfect, no more can be said. Following this pleasant
jolt, only Carmen Linares' slow bulería was left before going on to the
bustling grand finale. As it was sensed, it was going to be 'Hello
Dolly', a song Diego Carrasco used to present the entire troupe. A real show.
The Jerez-born artist made everyone sing and dance... including Carmen Linares!
He even made Arcángel sing while playing the guitar. They laughed, they
hugged one another, they rendered themselves full out. And the audience enjoyed
it, filled to the brim as it now was after a nearly two-hour show by a fistful
of the greatest artists who felt free in this cross-border territory which is
flamenco.
magazine@flamenco-world.com
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