The best of the National Competition of Cante Jondo Antonio Mairena It was the dance of Javier Baron, who received the Antonio Mairena Dance Award for his unquestionable artistic value and his brilliant career spanning half a century on the stage. With the immense guitar of Salvador Gutierrez, made the wait for the jury's decision seem minuscule. He filled the breeze of Los Alcores with the scent of Alcalá, brimming with depth, wisdom, and flamenco, full of naturalness and experience, with a dance of exquisite scratches that blew the lid off the senses. And the one who sang best on the Mairena stage was David El Galli in his accompaniment. He was tremendous. He curled the cracked moans of the hurtful pinpricks of his Adam's apple and pellizcos by handfuls from the soleá to the toná de the little birds with which they said goodbye to Mairena. That's what two are for flamencocategory, not suspected of being cold or soft, as was the case with most of the contestants.
Not infrequently, awards are given generously to the least evil. I don't know if that was the case with the young man from Algabeño. Luis Ortega, who broke the ice with his intervention as the brand new winner of the Manuel Mairena Young Award to the Cante, shielded by the dark-tinged sonanta of Joselito de Pura, official guitarist, who couldn't play more gypsy. With the palmas de Vanesa and Rocío MontañoLuis tuned himself into tonás knowing where he was. He continued searching for himself in the bulería por soleá, canonical and resultant in memory of Mairena, Perrate o Rosalia from Triana…sweet and fresh, as befits his age. And without interruption he finished with bulerías, looking at himself in Luis de la Pica o Joan of the Stir, leaving the microphone behind in a display that only half worked, crowning it with a fandango por bulerías. And after Luis received from the relevant authorities and personalities the painting with the sculpture of Mairena, whose authorship he signs Jesus Gavira, the friend and companion Juan Garrido He put the contest into play with his usual gift of words, solemnity when appropriate and his good work as a communicator of the flamenco. It was time to first recall the members of the jury: Carmen Arjona, Lourdes Galvez del Postigo, Mibri, Miguel Ángel Jiménez y Anthony Count. All of them with unwavering honesty and abundant knowledge, something that raises the cachet of the contest and one of the ingredients that continue to keep it as the most serious and impactful among all those in the current panorama of what there is. jondo.
Eve of God He wrapped himself in the ropes of Cordoba Short, an extraordinary guitarist who rarely appears in these parts, but who undoubtedly makes anyone shine. The singer punctuated the tonás with broken turns and rich moans:
In the land of Mairena
it has been sung in toná
by martinete and by debla
y cantes for soleá.
And the mirror in which I look at myself:
Antonio Mairena,
Pastora and Thomas.
It was not the only original lyrics in his repertoire, since even when he entered Levante, he also opted for innovations in the cadences and thirds of the Levantica of the Lame from MalagaTastes aside. The bulerías were salty – worthy of memory was their recreation of the cantes of Gaspar– with dedication and some excesses. Not because she danced, which she did with age. But because her registers were closer to that of a coplero and her gestures to the histrionic. She looked loose and unbridled. In my opinion, the bulerías ruined her possible aspiration for the award. palmas, Cristina Carrasco placeholder image y Xavier Serrano.
Moses Vargas He didn't have his night. Not even if he was accompanied by a Bajañí from another league –Anthony Soto –, nor for his admirable intentions. His speech fell flat even in the evocation of the taranto of the Tonto Linares that popularized Phosphorite, with the same lyrics as always, by the way. He faltered in the low notes of the soleá apolá and excelled more in the high notes and in the musicality of the I deny the rose bushes or the echoes of CharamuscoCristina and Javier provided the bulería rhythm again. Moisés was perfect.
"It's true that this year the coveted award has been presented at a higher level than in other years, but perhaps the problem wasn't that no one won it this time, but that in other years it has been given—if you'll understand the hyperbole—with fewer demands, more cheerfully."
The protocol break was obligatory. Because the contest paid tribute to the Peña Flamenca The Soleá of Alcalá from the neighboring town of Alcalá de Guadaíra on his fortieth birthday. You can watch it in full in the video below, so as not to make this chronicle too long.
Shielded by José de Diego on the guitar, Isabel Leñero offered his proposal. He interpreted all the canteas they are, from orthodoxy and with an interesting repertoire: malagueña de Chacon and The Canary, soleá por bulerías and liviana, in which he linked, as is customary, the toná ligera of Diego the Lebrijan and the male of María Borrico. A recital with no more problems than the abuse of the measure that corseted it until it became lukewarm. They accompanied her to the palmas Your teacher The Jaraqueño y Juanlu Garrido.
Manuel de Monte With José de Pura, he was the singer who conveyed the most meaning to me. The man from Mairena felt at ease and gave his all. And from someone who gives even the higaíllas, little more can be asked. A great aficionado and a true Mairena fan, he also began with malagueñas, without finishing them off in excellence. Vanesa and Rocío at palmas They sprinkled the rhythm with cantiñas, where Manuel made a variety from the Maestranza de Sevilla, passing through Lebrija in memory of Pinini until reaching Córdoba. He ended up skinning himself with tonás, with blows of voice, digging his chest and stomach, emptying himself of flamencoBut he was missing that tiny bit that marks the difference between a professional singer with a vision for a future career and the details that shape the portrait of those who can shoulder the weight of the coveted award. Let's get this straight.
July Romero He carried it better than in his arms between its ropes cante de Isco Heredia with the palmas de Vinaza and his partner –sorry for not mentioning his name, no one introduced any of the night's companions–. Isco easily resolved the canteminers and played the only seguiriya of the competition. Simple in the first section, warmer in the second section Uncle Jose de Paula and aiming at achieving the effect with the special days of Santiago and Santa Ana without filling it with enough quintals for the poise it requires. It culminated in bulerías, with deference to Panseco, among others. Despite everything, his performance could have been, but it wasn't, without taking away from his merits and conforming to a more than decent intervention. Not in vain, it earned him the Calixto Sanchez Award of this edition, which he picked up apparently disappointed, I suppose with the bittersweet taste of not having won the main prize.
Javier Barón danced like no one else during the jury's deliberation and visibly moved, he received the award in his arms. It was presented to him by First Giraldillo of the Cante, Calixto. Detail that had Antonio Cruz by giving it to the distinguished singer so that Mairena's face could be from Giraldillo to Giraldillo, since Barón was the first to treasure this statuette of the dance. Casa del Arte Flamenco Antonio MairenaThe competition organizer, had the good sense to remember Javier's fifty-year career. What's more, she scored a goal for his fellow residents of Alcalá, who had yet to express any recognition for this magnificent dancer. But there's no room for arguments here, only gratitude.
The Antonio Mairena Award to Cante It was left vacant. That was the jury's decision, and this critic fully agrees. It's true that this year the prize was awarded at a higher level than in other years, but perhaps the problem wasn't that no one won it this time, but rather that on other occasions it has been awarded—if you understand the hyperbole—with fewer demands, more happily. Considering the impact of the festival and the projection that an artist who receives the prize must have, None of the candidates demonstrated sufficient worth to carry the weight of this recognition according to their intervention on the wooden floor of the auditorium..
What I disagree with is that the prize money, seven thousand euros, should be wasted. The rules should state the possibility of sharing it among the contestants, or allow it to be cumulative, so that the following year the winner will receive not seven but fourteen thousand euros. Leaving it vacant, although it generates sadness and controversy, brings prestige to the jury and the contest. It's not outrageous; quite the opposite. ♦
