El Guiri Festivaljondo, the appointment with the flamencos of the world of PaloMares del Río (Seville), advanced this Thursday in its fourth edition with a day that offered moments of great flamenco and, above all, a wonderful atmosphere of healthy and relaxed coexistence. flamencoThese musicians from around the world don't come to this town with the anxiety of someone about to take an exam, burdened by the tired old handicap of not having the deep-rooted passion in their blood, but rather ready to enjoy themselves and to share their art with others. They know that the hardest work, the learning and the refinement, they have already done, and that their guarantees are honesty and love for this universal music.
Tyler Barbour
The one in charge of opening the afternoon was Tyler Barbour, Californian scholar and contributor to ExpoFlamenco, who presented her book at the festival The writers and the flamencoThe anti-Franco struggle (1967-1978)Published by the University of Cádiz. The plenary hall hosted this talk in which Barbour explained that “the idea of writing this book stemmed from the following hypothesis: the contribution of artists flamencoThe construction of democracy has been insufficiently addressed from an academic perspective. Therefore, I have attempted to partially remedy this deficiency and demonstrate that writers were essential in bringing about the flamenco along the path of the anti-Franco struggle.”
“First, the songs I’ve discussed were written by political dissidents and sung in places that were particularly problematic for high-ranking officials of the Franco regime, such as the university environment in Madrid,” he continued. Second, there were several plays with a strong ideological commitment in which the flamenco It became the core of their stage language, and the lyrics sung in these shows were also conceived on a written basis. And thirdly, the trajectory of those lyrics was enhanced thanks to the journalistic coverage of one of the most emblematic magazines of the anti-Franco struggle: Triunfo.”
“I don’t want to exaggerate, which is why we must clarify this from the beginning: we are talking about a minority of artists from flamenco and a minority of writers,” he concluded. As a final touch to the event, the author took out his guitar, even in front of a master like Paco. Peñaand he dared to add a few touches of his own style flamenco to end by inviting the attendees to sing with him Blowin' in the wind de Bob Dylan.
Paco Peña, the pioneer in Rotterdam
The next meeting of the afternoon was moved to Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa Municipal Theaterwhere the director of Guirjondo, Manuel BohorquezHe had a lively conversation with the guitarist. Paco PeñaA true legend of Bajañí in Europe. Born in Córdoba in 1942, he moved to London in the late 1960s, where he consolidated his career and became an international figure in the genre. flamencoFrom 1970 onwards she formed her own dance company and flamenco with which she performs all over the world, and in 1985, after winning the Ramón Montoya prize in the National Art Competition Flamenco from Córdoba, accepted the unprecedented offer to create and lead a chair of flamenco at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music.
“To be applauded all over the world for what you do is wonderful,” confessed the guitarist, who recalled the Rotterdam adventure thus: “They already knew me in Holland, and they wanted to invite me to flamenco to the conservatory, saying that their guitar courses could benefit greatly. At first I was scared and told them no, but in the end we got down to work.”
Peña He acknowledged not feeling particularly valued in Spain, although he has never lost touch with his native Córdoba or with the country. Finally, regarding the importance of knowledge of flamenco in the world. “I am very committed to that, it fills me with gratitude and pride if the audience listens to me in absolute silence. I don't do the flamenco It's beautiful, I try to make it hurt like it always has. And I find a lot of respect. I'm still working and living in London, although I'm here every now and then… The time hasn't come for me to choose where to live yet.”
Lola Yang, the 'aje' of China
Being a foreignerjondo Of such a flamenco and international event, few recitals are as diverse and evocative as that of the Chinese guitarist. Lola Yang and the singer Manuel de la China, accompanied by the flamenco dancer Malena Alba Kuroiwahalf Japanese and half Spanish, and the Greek flamenco dancer Antonio Andreu, under the eloquent title Foreigners with aje.
Raised in Shanghai, the daughter of a philosopher father and a pianist mother, she graduated from the Toulon Conservatory (France) to immerse herself fully in flamenco culture. Since then, she has accompanied numerous artists and embarked on all kinds of projects, in addition to teaching at the San Francisco de Paula school. We recently saw her in the Esch Festival (Luxembourg) accompanying with a pronounced comic flair Jose Galan e Inma the Carbonera in the show The Hunchback of Seville.
But this time she was in the spotlight, the center of attention. Two guitar and dance pieces inspired, according to Lola Yang herself, by old masters such as Dolores Vargas y Melchor de MarchenaThey then gave way to a zambra of their own making and a seguiriya that again looked to the mirror of the aforementioned duo, to conclude with the surprise of the night, Lola bursting into dance the cante by Manuel de la China and the touch of Javi Gómez, to top it all off with a finale full of energy and good humor.
The naked dance María La Serrana
Born in Lebanon, raised in a village in the Netherlands, María La Serrana saw how the flamenco Flamenco came into her life when she was just three years old, during a family vacation. From then on, her dream was to become a flamenco dancer, for which she had to complete extensive training that began with classical ballet. At 24, she moved to Seville, where under the tutelage of the Farrucos family, she confirmed her vocation and refined her dance style.
The artist, who currently manages the flamenco venue Flamenco Essence of Triana, brought Guirojondo your proposal NudeA title which—she joked in private—she hoped wouldn't be misleading, because she didn't intend to show an inch of skin. She did, however, strip her soul of all artifice in a performance where she shone with taranto, zambra, and soleá, accompanied by... louis amador, his usual right-hand man, and two outstanding flamenco singers such as John Joseph Amador y Pepe de Pura who carried her on their shoulders. ♦
