Versión Española and Subterfuge release a flamenco record of sountracks taken from Spanish cinema

Tomatito, Rafael Riqueni, Niña Pastori and Estrella Morente
are some of the artists included

Flamenco-world.com

The relationship between flamenco and the cinema is not as close as some people might imagine...with the exception of Carlos Saura's work. Nevertheless, Spanish filmmakers like Bigas Luna, Santiago Segura, Chus Gutiérrez or Fernando Colomo have drawn as much from flamenco as from its derivatives in putting music to their movies. The television program Versión Española with the recording company Subterfuge reflect this 'phenomenon' with the second record of a series devoted to soundtracks from Spanish cinema. If the first record contained pop music, and the third promises incidental background music, "Versión Española 02" brings thirty flamenco songs by artists such as Tomatito, Niña Pastori, Estrella Morente, Ketama, Duquende, Diego Carrasco and Montse Cortés, as well as Cathy Claret's version of 'Dead for You', the program's theme song.

'Me quedo contigo', a Chunguitos song, was heard in 'Deprisa, deprisa' (1981), the film that brought Carlos Saura the Oso de Oro at the Berlin Festival. The Ketama trio sings about Coque Malla's problems in 'El Efecto Mariposa' (1995) by Fernando Colomo. Paz, the star of Taxi (1996), another Saura work, was lovesick to the tune of the Gipsy Kings' 'Un Amor'. Torrente tore his way through Marbella to the beat of Navajita Plateá... And those are just a few examples of flamenco music's incursion into the world of cinema included on the double CD collection 'Versión Española 02'...and some that are not included.

Santiago Tabernero, who directed Versión Española, explains in the accompanying booklet that comes with the record that "the anthology is as varied and unorthodox as the sixteen films it draws from". In fact, the recording contains such varied tracks as a saeta by Diego Carrasco, sevillanas by Salmarina, one of Lole and Manuel's hit bulerías songs, a villancico of Estrella Morente and a rich string of rumbas by 'nuevo flamenco' groups, finally ending with Niña Pastori's catchy 'Tu me Camelas'. Tabernero praises Carlos Saura's work but adds that "he's not alone in his flamenco crusade". The list of filmmakers he is referring to, according to Tabernero "is made up of a sufficiently varied group as to insure that flamenco will capture the interest of coming generations of Spanish filmmakers as much as the classics, and is capable of influencing all areas of cinematography".

Bonus track

As a prelude to the collection of flamenco songs taken from soundtracks, the record starts out with what Tabernero calls "a knowing wink to the program's followers". That "wink" is in the form of the program's themesong, Najwajean's 'Dead for You' - actress Nawja Nimri's experimental 'trip hop' with the musician Carlos Jean - made by the self-styled French flamenco artist Cathy Claret, known as the Chica del Viento [girl of the wind] and composer of Pata Negra's 'Bolleré'.