La Farruca's
blue blood shows through. One of the trump cards of
the 2005 A Corazón Abierto season was the dazzling presence
of La Farruca, whose return to the stage is delighting fans.
The daughter of Farruco
and mother of Farruquito caused a stir in the audience who filled
three quarters of the seats of Teatro Fernando de Rojas at Madrid's
Círculo de Bellas Artes on Friday 6th May 2005. Accompanied
on vocals by Encarna Anillo, José Anillo and El Canastero,
and on guitar by El Perla, she kicked off in an exchange with
her nephew El Barullo por alegrías. After a bulería
interlude performed by the looming Faraona, she left ‘el
niño’ to perform solo so that he could show off
his composure and the hallmarks of his clan por seguiriyas.
And the big moment arrived with La Farruca's soleá: beautiful,
powerful and mature. The recital was brief but intense, much
as that may sound like a cliché. The clan is at its peak,
in spite of everything. The season would still see a shoulder-to-shoulder
performance by José Menese and Rafael Riqueni the following
evening, the all-nighters led by bailaora Mari Paz Lucena and
the delicious aftertaste of the masterful lesson given on Thursday
5th May by Mario Maya. The maestro from Granada presented his
critical reflections on the current flamenco dance scene, digging
up an interesting audiovisual from the seventies entitled ‘Camelamos
naquerar’ ('We wished to talk' in Gitano slang).
