-Mom, I have a fever
-Son, that means you're going to grow a lot.
I'm sure many of you have heard this during your childhood. Now that we're all stuck on the roof, this doesn't happen to us. And I'm reminded of this anecdote to tell you about this festival because it certainly represents a growth spurt, that growth spurt we expected from... little ones when the heat was on. It is because it's something different and something that was needed. It goes a step further, broadening the concept of festivals by placing them in another dimension. Judging by the success with the public and the great atmosphere there, it's expected, timely, and meets the needs of those other fans in addition to those of the same old people. It's clearly a great festival that straddles the line between orthodoxy and the flamenco scoundrel.
The fever goes away in a few days; it requires rest. That's why I've escaped the immediacy of journalism to revel in the tranquility of photos, reliving the moments, the conversations, and the shock of flamenco reality that slapped me in the face while spending time with friends during the pandemic. The Fever of the Cante And I'm publishing it now. I confess that I felt sad to see that it wasn't covered by the specialized press, so you won't find a report on the rest of the websites or magazines. flamenco more than here, on these lines. And it makes me angry that for poorly justified reasons that those who need to know know, expoflamenco have not been present at previous editions, despite having been cordially and personally invited by Pedro Lopez, which is, together with Moses from Morón, one of the culprits behind La Fiebre. I highly recommend his podcast. Silverio's Café, which already has more than one hundred very interesting programs broadcast
This Benicàssim of the flamenco It's private, self-managed, and very unique. It doesn't receive subsidies and is funded by the work of many people and the price of admission. It sounds idyllic. It is. In the world of trinque, inflated budgets, exorbitant fees, unscrupulous intermediaries, and parasitic scammers, jondo, this beautiful idea comes from fans at heart and has been coming true for four editions now. Those of the Peña Flamenca The Bambera (Seville) are also partly responsible for the madness. Marinaleda has opened its arms and its sports hall so that people could sleep on mattresses for the few hours that the concerts, the drinks, the rest of the programming and the impromptu revelry allowed. Others slept in rented houses, hotel rooms, or nearby hostels. Others also slept in RVs and camper vans. More than 350 people changed their plans to go to the Villaviciosa campsite where the festival was to be held—which had left the organizers stranded two weeks before the festival—and headed to Marinaleda without too many objections, driven by the rush.
"Judging by the success with the public and the great atmosphere there, it is expected, timely and meets the needs of those other fans in addition to those of the same old people. It is clearly a great festival that moves between orthodoxy and the flamenco scoundrel"
In the artistic aspect only programming was done cante. No dancing or solo guitar playing. A real claim turned into a hallmark, in keeping with the title of the contest. It took place in the House of Culture and Living Room Palo Palo, which hosted the most experimental and avant-garde sessions during the early morning hours, thus uniting this festival between two institutions that usually design their activities in parallel without much dialogue. Two nights and days in which La Fiebre exalted Marinaleda, thrilling fans and onlookers alike. Those who had already registered and those who came to enjoy the warmth. A souvenir badge distinguished the lapels of those who had paid to participate. Meanwhile, the town's mayor and deputy mayor were serving behind the bar at the Casa de la Cultura snack bar to benefit the Sahrawi people. Lion He made a magnificent host in the Palo Palo, in the vicinity of which the market was set up, spontaneous parties took place on its terrace and rogue performances and book presentations took place in the hall.
The cage was opened with a scream. cante de The Divi After a moving introductory speech by Pedro López. With a rhythmic guitar, a series of alzapúas and drones of Jose Luis Medina and palmas de Edu Gomez y Tate Núñez, He cooked up a classical and well-executed repertoire in which he demonstrated his mastery of the bass and the breadth of tonal registers that his voice holds, perhaps somewhat flowery, taking away from the rotundity of the cante despite the manner in which he approached him. He left La Puebla de Marianas Shake y Moreno Galvan. He claimed Pastora In the Bambera, because of Malaga, she remembered La Peñaranda and crowned it with abandolaos. He wanted to surprise with the soleá perchelera of The Chinese, woven with nods to the romances of CamarónHe continued with a string of cantiñas, but the best part of his performance were the tangos he paid tribute to in the makings of Joan of the StirHe said goodbye to fandangos.
Sharing the palmeros, Ezekiel Benitez He triumphed in his recital due to the broadcast, searching in the centers for the ducas that scratch. He was accompanied with Ceperian airs on the guitar by his inseparable Paco León, which makes the cypress speak, over which the six silver rivers of a sensitive and well-played Bajañí vibrate. With his own lyrics he liked the soleá, standing out in La Andonda, his interpretation of that of The Huts or in the fandango that he endorsed in the twelve times. He spurted salt cutting the thirds by alegrías. He said the cante –he sings it to you and tells it to you–. He didn’t put on a show with lies, he sang as he is, pinching and entertaining with his age. He tempered himself with the threshing, he hurt with the malagueña he dedicates to his father, he ripped the pithy seguiriya lament in the one of Uncle Jose de Paula and the macho from Los Puertos, sentenced with fandangos and completed the task with bulerías with a little kick included, lifting the audience from their seats, who thanked the Jerez native for his feat with applause.
The night ended in the Palo Palo ’s relationship with the flamenco-trap of Marenkarma y Da Mopa with a brave proposal that can serve as a starting point for experimentation, since if we abstract the cante of the product, it was still the intervention of a medium-sized singer – very artistic – who successfully seasoned guajiras, the legend of time, bamberas, alegrías, tangos, la caña or the pregón de la moras, among others, with electronic introductions or endings and protest lyrics - he also used those of Lorca– which pleased the festival audience. His fondness for the greats of the flamenco at the same time as by the new generations that tread on the tangent, such as Rosalia o Angeles ToledanoHe alternated attacks with whispers, activism with literature, flamenco With trap… Pedro also participated on the organ and DJing. It was all, to say the least, fun and thought-provoking, different, of course.
The second day began with a visit outside the initial program to the El Humoso Farm to learn about your cooperative project, guided by the economist Oscar Garcia Jurado. Despite the early start required, more than 80 people attended. Then at the entrance of the Palo Palo the market and inside a nutritious chat with Nando Cruz: Live music: encroachments and self-defense strategies. Nando spoke to us about the economic background and how successful large-scale festivals and other types of cultural activities operate, almost always through self-management and social awareness. Álvaro Seisdedos, designer of the posters for La Fiebre, presented his book with Pedro López I was a stone and lost my center. Flamencospellings, a compilation of twelve years of experience as an illustrator flamenco, a passionate artistic facet that obsessed him when he observed the gap between the quality of what jondo and its visual projection, especially the graphic one. Hence his involvement in keeping up. He pointed out that he intended to play with stereotypes, twisting them until they clashed with other universes and genres in a clear intention to break with the traditional iconography of flamenco, fleeing from it –also from Carmen and Lorca – but without losing sight of it, «because the image itself is a way of thinking and many times we reach the flamenco for the first time through the image.
"Ezequiel Benítez triumphed in his recital thanks to his transmission, searching for the best possible ducas in the middle. He was accompanied with a Ceperian air on guitar by his inseparable Paco León, who makes the cypress tree speak, over which the six silver rivers of a sensitive and well-played Bajañí vibrate."
In the afternoon the documentary was screened at the House of Culture Morente and Barcelona, with the dissertation of louis cabrera. It was a little longer and overlapped with the dance workshop of Marimar La María, which I was unable to enjoy. Luis, founder of the Music Workshop from Barcelona and promoter of the film, highlighted the role of Morente and his cante as a tool for social struggle. The audiovisual captures the singer's close relationship with the circle of Barcelona fans who, through the flamenco They engaged in left-wing politics against the dictatorship. Supported by interviews and archive images, the Granada native's sensitivity to the oppressed and the sense of freedom he found in the Catalan capital were shown. The personality of a flamenco ahead of his time, for whose proposals the world was not yet ready. This admirer of Leonard Cohen, daring, impetuously creative, unorthodox, a nonconformist seeker, humble... "I had to be a rocker, but I became a singer because I didn't have the balls to do it," and he apologized for making mistakes during rehearsals. "Along with Federico, the greatest thing Granada has ever had."
Antonio Mejias The second night of the festival began. On the arm of the guitarist Manuel Herrera appeared on stage with the proclamation of equals, of his own authorship. "He reminds us of the greats and has an overwhelming personality." palmas they guided him to the beat Richard Gutierrez y Alberto ParraguillaIn the soleá he shone with a taleguero air, drawing Alcalá or remembering Triana with La Andonda. Here, in the alegrías of Córdoba and in almost the entire recital, he sang excessively measured and calm, thinking about the verses, seeking security and brilliance. He even affected his voice, imitating Chano in the tanguillos. The seguiriya was settled with the macho of Manuel Molina, grown up and with years. The audience was feverish and I was cold. He performed filigrees in bulerías and his couplets for the enjoyment of the fans. Then he finished with fandangos, finishing in a brave air with that of Grapefruit. What I liked most was the guitar. Because Manolito Herrera makes neatness a commandment and is a servant of cante that you are passionate about, flamenco by right, jondo in the falsetas, excellent in the fat drones, just right in the accompaniment, delicious in the composition and delicate in the tremolos, arpeggios and tiraíllos.
Aroa of Bastián came to spill the originality of his gypsy throat, the seal of cante untainted, pure, wild, and untamed. Raw, unpolished, with stumbles that knock you out. He came to revalidate his talents, to unleash a handful of new moans that shake the platforms he passes by with freshness. The tune of Rubén Portillo knows her like no one else. It started with the legend of time, without imitating. He made the malagueña sound different from the trinity seal with the abandoned. Pa Pastora The bambera. Through tangos, she sparked a revolution, leaving the audience on their feet. And she reached the finale, full of grace through bulerías. Aroa's brass digs, hurts, breaks, digs its nails in. There's no more.
Rafael de Utrera al cante y Carlos Haro splendid guitarist brought down the curtain on the House of Culture. Rafael was a delight. As always. With the same repertoire as always. With those same impossible registers that take care of the bass and reach as high as he wants, rocking the palos at his whim and with his own stamp. For soleá apolá he went to Triana. The taranta of Ferdinand of Triana –also– and then that of The Gabriela, changing its name to Carmela, as his wife is called. He whispers the tarara and then he takes her upstairs. He showed off his cantiñas, leaving through the sugarcane fields, stopping in Córdoba, Cádiz and Lebrija. He attached the Hail to Consolation of Utrera at the end of the vidalita that he weaves with taste with his privileged tragaero. He fit in some lyrics dedicated to his family. Romances or corridos. He continued with the seguiriya where it thunders for Tío José de Paula, does that thing of to Blessed Lawrence of the bacan and he bolts it with one of his own males. With the little bread toy He starts his usual bulerías and pays tribute to Camarón, Bernarda of Utrera and his couplets, he launches himself into the air filling the room with his voice and finishes as usual with that...
To the one who prays every day
may do more harm
that he who has not prayed on his way
Breakfast Palo Palo then he put on the quilt with DJ FeverAnd in many corners of Marinaleda, between vans, on every corner, on the terrace of a bar, at the exit of the House of Culture... cante, palmas and amateur guitar, gatherings and laughter, debates and hugs, food, drinks, friends, contact and good vibes between those poisoned by this art with The Fever of cante, a festival between orthodoxy and flamenco scoundrel. ♦
