Incomprehensibly, this is becoming the usual tone of all the shows that are being held within the framework of the I Biennial of Flamenco from Granada, and it doesn't look like it's going to be fixed two days before it ends. The continuous sound problems, day after day, are not due to a one-off, some technical problem that can't be controlled. The penultimate day of recitals affected Mayte Martín. Despite expressing with a conciliatory and friendly attitude that the sound changed quite a bit from the sound test at the beginning, during his performance he had to ask for increases in reverb, depth in the sound, increase the ambient sound so that the warmth of the audience could reach him and a long etcetera, which had the technician, Alvaro, Quite entertaining. The truth is that Mayte appreciated it and was grateful, because despite all the efforts, it was difficult to make the sound adjustments.
Otherwise, we find ourselves before a singer in full maturity, well known for her sweetness in the cante, for his melismatic turns, for his very sensitive way of transmitting and winning over the audience in the best way possible, that is, feeling from within what he does, what he says and what comes out.
That's why she is one of the most recognized singers on the scene. flamencoAnd that's how she wanted to make him feel. Did she succeed? Judging by the audience's response, absolutely. However, it's necessary to note the content of her recital and evaluate it from a perspective that prioritizes the writer's wit and puts the singer's cards on the table. When she began with a taranta-malagueña from Fernando de Triana She seemed cold and somewhat tonally unbalanced, although she was eager to show her sensitivity in the thirds, and she did so, even though it was difficult and she had to give a truce in the minera and the levantica with which she finished. In those, José Gálvez, his faithful squire on the guitar in recent years, insisted on adorning his voice with hints of Ramon Montoya at the start. In the Malaga section she gradually began to feel comfortable, especially in the sweet exit of the Baldomero Pacheco, which was faithful to the forms of the Penalty to finish immediately with a series of abandolaos that served to warm up the voice, rondeña of Rafael Romero, with low tones, like those in the style of Dolores de la huerta and the finishing touch Peppermint bottle. Certainly, the flamenco quality she exudes is plausible, despite her telling us she was already sixty years old and felt burdened by them, to which Gálvez elegantly replied that they were only in her hair. Once she found her true self, everything went smoothly. In soleá, the guitar rocked her in different styles, although the silences and the excessive hitting of the top, avoiding the notes, didn't help at all. Without underestimating the Jerez guitarist's reliable playing, Mayte must be taken musically, providing a melodic and tonal space that transcends strictly classical playing.flamenco. On the other hand, the technique that José applied took it to a more flamenco, more along the lines of cante traditional, which is also a pleasure to hear Mayte in that context. Not everything has to be beautiful, nor is beautiful at odds with flamenco or with what others call purity. In the candor and depth of the seguiriya, the coupling between cante and guitar was a perfect tandem. Mayte decided on the cante Jerez short, that explosive and spoken word against which she fought and emerged victorious. Here she was not duplicitous and showed that if she puts her mind to it, and she does, she is an all-rounder and no criticism is allowed as to what is understood by cante the usual one.
"Not everything has to be beautiful, nor is beautiful at odds with flamenco or with what others call purity. In the candor and depth of the seguiriya, the coupling between cante and guitar was a perfect tandem. Mayte decided on the cante "Jerez short, that explosive and spoken word against which she fought and emerged victorious"
He had time for a very long series of tientos that he embellished with another even longer series of tangos in which Pastora Pavón She was the main protagonist in a display of freshness embellished with sublime knowledge and sensitivity. The latter is one of the singer's greatest assets. What a fascinating ability to make the raw and sometimes incomprehensible beautiful in her repertoire of lyrics and musical connections between styles to tell a story.
He also offered another good round of cantiñas, traveling around the bay, speaking the thirds, playing with the tempos, with the silences and with the rhythm.
To close he sang bulerías, those of Antonio the Blacksmith, some short ones from Jerez, the rromance of Queen Mercedes that put it in the Flemish orbit Fernanda from Utrera and a snail zambra in a time of amalgamation.
Credits
recital of cante by Mayte Martín
I Biennial of Flamenco from Granada
Sacromonte Abbey
25th September 2025
Cante: Mayte Martín
Guitar: José Gálvez
