FREE PLATFORM. FLAMENCO ACCORDING TO…
Antonio Canales
Antonio Canales for Flamenco-world.com
November 13th, 2009
• FLAMENCO IS…
A universe of sensations and feelings. It is a way of being
and feeling… At the same time, it is a vehicle to
go beyond borders and landscapes with. A form of encounter
and communication between ancestral peoples and cultures.
A common thread of gravity and union between diverse ways
of seeing life. It is a sound, it is a cry and a whisper…
A silent legacy which is passed on orally from generation
to generation. Perpetual motion like the sea. Not all flamenco
is art. However, flamenco art is just another section of
all this infinite galaxy of flesh and blood… In short,
it is a way of being in life.
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“Flamenco
is a universe of sensations and feelings”
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If we open up our lungs to the other forms
of art and customs, flamenco will always have the privilege
of being an island to conquer at the international level.
Because in its vehemence it encloses the mysterious secret
of the mystic, the wild and the untamed. Through its veins
rushes the strength of beasts, the sluggishness of rivers
and the relentless fire of the bowels of the earth. But
if we close ourselves and do not look around us, it will
always be an ancient, decadent, bucolic, rigid artform…
• WHAT DISTURBS YOU
I only know how to express myself by means of these weapons.
So I pour all of my restlessness upon it. It is the best
way for me to bare my soul and show myself just the way
I am. My profession is flamenco dancing, but my life belongs
to flamenco in all of its magnitude.
My whims move me to create… my anxieties,
my longings, my ravings, my weaknesses and the feeling I
am experiencing at that instant in my life. It is a conviction,
and a release… My heart is a bonfire which cannot
be put out; no matter how much downpour falls upon it. At
the moment I am involved in a new show which will be called
F L A M E N C U R A… With a very young, skilled troupe…
And as the top stars “Las Amayas”; a living
legend...
As far as my contribution to the enterprise
of this artform, I think that in these 30 years of service
and devotion to my beloved profession, something must have
remained from all of the energy spent and suffered and sweated;
I so hope and desire. But the best is yet to come, when
the strength of the muscles in my legs fades and at the
same time the muscles in my brain are sprinkled with the
same intensity…
• WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY
Seeing that we have made progress by leaps and bounds over
the last few lustrums… At every level, new satellites
and stars have been born… bright stars and seraphs…
Machines to manufacture, companies to distribute, websites
like yours with information and commitment… Now that
I am working my way towards the end of my career as a performer,
I tell myself: what better gift can I have than to see the
meadows grow green again spring after spring. Could there
be any greater satisfaction for a creator than for where
he has focused his attention to end up turning into a huge,
flowery, sturdy field?
• WHAT WORRIES YOU
I am worried by idleness, injustice, the clumsy politics
of contacts and string-pulling… All of these ingredients
are corrosive, malignant cancers which are flung out by
the mediocre and end up undermining the health of flamenco…
Those who want to cover everything and everyone... They
are full-fledged fascists.
Some people believe themselves to be eternal
and unique, mighty and terrifying, they instill fear on
a large scale; and let’s not forget that fear is the
best glue for injustice… With their haughtiness and
supremacy, they sow flamenco of terror, hindering youths
and affecting, aging and delaying progress…
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“I
am worried by idleness, injustice, the clumsy politics
of contacts”
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...But death and age, as Pablo Neruda said,
is tomorrow’s best ally. The most infallible weapon
that could ever exist. The memory which will be held of
these people will turn to dust, because what has to be will
be; no matter how much certain people insist on ignoring
it. And they will sink into oblivion, for the simple fact
of having believed themselves just and perfect with the
right criteria; for judging others, without scruples or
reason, according to their tastes, idiosyncrasies and styles.
• A COMPLAINT
We artists ourselves have to fix, clean up and induce the
operation system, and not wait for someone to do it for
us. If we don’t start there… What do we expect
to get?
We ourselves have to work on the industry,
infrastructures, coordinations and trends; we are the ones
involved and the ones who are hurt in first person, and
this way we can involve third parties… But being mere
spectators is certain death.
• A COMPLIMENT
Friendly democracy. Carmen Amaya, the pillar. Paco de Lucía,
the fountain. Camarón, the life’s dream, and
Bienal de Sevilla, the Olympic podium. The blood shed by
so many artists is the river of Flamencura…
• A LIE
The ones told tirelessly by the envious. And above all,
the one which Cultural Andalusia makes of my person. Why
so many national and international awards, illustrious Andalusian
personage, ambassador of Gazpacho and anchovies and other
southern trivialities? Because, my friends: what is neither
healthy nor wholesome is certain people’s squandering
of misery, rottenness and lack of ethics. Look at this example:
how can it be that in his entire career, Antonio Canales
has not had the pleasure of being invited to the Andalusia
Ballet; not even to see its facilities? Is there anything
more vulgar, unjust and mediocre in the doings of every
director who has worked for that blessed organization? Since
when have I been an undesirable? Apparently, it seems that
is what some would like; but I don’t think so. A good
vine yields good grapes... and my mother Pastora is the
best bailaora of all time. She was lucky enough not to have
to sell herself, and her art belongs exclusively to our
family, ladies and gentlemen...
• A TRUTH
In the world, there are those in love with flamenco and
we make them fall out of love with our fallacies, selfishness
and wrongdoings… What a shame!
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“A
wish: For FLAMENCO to be World Heritage”
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A small note: let’s see if some night
at the Bienal or in Jerez or wherever possible, they might
invite Livio Gianolla, Juan Carmona, Kiko Ruiz… and
so many other wonderful guitarists who might not speak Spanish
like we do, but who know flamenco language as well or better
than anybody… Take note. It would be a really enriching
experience…
• SOMETHING TO REMEMBER
When flamenco dancing became a part of the Ministry of Culture,
as something serious… Forgetting... no, it is better
to die and come back from the dead in order to be remembered.
But those who should never be present on Spain’s scene
are flamenco terrorists; never ever.
• A WISH
For “FLAMENCO” to be World Heritage, which is
what I have been fighting for lately without courage. But
nobody gives a damn about these trifles…
• NOTES
With love and excitement and truth, we shall conquer the
planet and we will fill it with bulerías and tangos…
Colors and filigrees… We will be the new Messiahs
of the eternal, everlasting arts… Flamenco regards
to my closest friends. Forever yours …
CANALES
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