The wealth of the flamenco It is in the variety of the repertoire, in the multiple styles that cover all kinds of affections, sensations, feelings and moods, in the many variants that emerge from each of these styles, from the fifty or so soleares, from the hundred fandangos of Huelva, the dozens of seguiriyas, the precious diversity in the cante through malagueñas, the thousand and one ways to recreate a natural fandango, the beautiful cluster of cantiñas, the rich variety of tangosAnd this treasure trove of popular culture doesn't end there. From each variant, as I say, arise the versions that the performers create. Imagine, for example, if the Mellizo's malagueña were the same regardless of who performed it, whoever recreated its classic melody. The greatest thing about this musical genre we call flamenco It's precisely the disparity that exists between one version of a particular style and another. That's where taste lies, in that blessed variety.
I remember how bad I felt when a very media-savvy funny guy, I'll save him the ridicule by not naming him, did mockery and ridicule of cante jondo putting his hands on his stomach while making a joke, making humor in the worst taste comparing the cante with a stomach ache. The very unpresentable. And I heard him several times presenting a festival that was held in Madrid in the nineties. How little grace I found that guy! As a staunch follower of Selu Cossío y Les Luthiers, I only accept grace free of borders and more or less coarse expressions. I detest that way of belittling the cante with cheap jokes and in the worst taste. The great beauty of the flamenco ridiculed. We are fed up with seeing things like this in the media, like The trend of calling the best music that Spain has given to the world "flamenco", from his native Andalusia to the farthest reaches of our planet. How is such shamelessness possible? I already complained last month in this very forum that you have graciously offered me. expoflamenco to live in the country where you like the least flamenco. Verified. I've been around the world six times and I've experienced it, but I haven't been told about it.
"I already complained recently in this same platform that you kindly offered me expoflamenco to live in the country where you like the least flamenco. Verified. I've been around the world six times and I've experienced it, I haven't been told about it.
To get to the point. Singing, as well as guitar playing and dancing, being orally transmitted, being learned by listening and watching, has an innate freedom when it comes to reinterpret a melody, a rhythmic pattern, a chord pressed on the fretboard of the guitar, a set of steps in a dance. It is the basis of its reason for being, the freedom of recreation. The word itself says it all: it is not about creating but recreating, creating anew, forging in the moment a personal way of singing a melody, a condition without which the phenomenon of the flamenco It wouldn't make sense. The sublime nature of this artistic and popular genre lies in The freedom to express what is learned from the depths of your being, releasing it naturally, without fuss, close to the heart, with the simple attitude of the craftsman, the art that heals, the purity of cante Truth. That's the key, the key that opens the hearts of those who listen, not being bound by specific rules, but only those imposed by the flamenco aesthetic, which knows how to perfectly differentiate between what is authentic and what is flattering, something some people are more than capable of. Because the line between what is heartfelt and what is fake is sometimes too thin, and it's not difficult to pass off a pig in a poke. The inexorable passage of time, the great judge who eventually puts everyone in their place, will take care of separating the wheat from the chaff. There have always been, and always will be, snake charmers trying to sell a broken-down motorcycle. tuning art without breaking a sweat, without scruples, thank goodness we already know what happens to the monkey when it dresses in silk.
Many believe that so-called classical music, because it is written, leaves no room for interpretation. Nothing could be further from the truth. How boring it would be to always hear the same Turkish march by the great MozartThe greatness of music lies in the variety of interpretations of the same work. And that in the flamenco multiplies due to its nature, forged in freedom. The other day in Vigo, the great Jorge Pardo, before starting a memorable concert accompanied by Jimenez melon y Bandit, said a few words thanking the audience for their commitment to live music. The Greatest Blower of the Kingdom wanted to highlight the natural miracle of music, which only manifests itself in a live concert. When artificial intelligence becomes as smart as God, all we'll have left is live music and dance. And that's also the ideal medium for art. The most authentic versions of the cantes, touches and dances take place on a stage, at a party, in a small room. The immediacy of the musical act, without tricks or gimmicks, the trapeze without a net, every time an artist sings, plays, or dances, they are taking a leap into the void, and whatever God wants, it will be. Well-crafted inspiration, concentration and respect for the art and the audience, unleashing a thorough understanding of how the elements are worked to offer a cante, a touch or a dance that comes out, as I said El Caracol, suddenly, without thinking, feeling, with the head and from the heart.
"The immediacy of the musical act, without tricks or gimmicks, the trapeze without a net, every time an artist sings, plays, or dances, they're taking a leap into the void, and whatever God wants, it's all about. Well-crafted inspiration, concentration, and respect for the art and the audience."
And so the infinite possibilities of a specific variant of a specific style are forged, the infinite possibilities of being reinterpreted a thousand and one times, to the point that the same artist never recreates his personal version (vision) of a style in the same way, conscious of modeling his work like a goldsmith, building it each time he recreates it, perfecting his style, committed to his art, giving his best, always on guard.
That's why there are those who die with Mairena and others hate it, just as there are those who are crazy about it Marchena and whoever despises it, cannot stand it Dying or they drink the winds for their art, they worship Vicente Friend or they rant about their way of creating (there are some that are that twisted), they touch the sky with The Pele or ignore it. And it is that, as with everything in life, there are different tastes, "versions", and when we talk about flamenco We must cross ourselves, like someone entering a sacred temple that houses a treasure of incalculable value. In quantity and quality. Let's be aware, it's time to stop playing dumb at the expense of art.
