I'll start with a confession: every time an artist tells me they're going to sing or play "from their truth," or worse, "from the truth," I raise an eyebrow. There's a certain confusion between "honesty" and "truth" in this matter, and a fundamental misunderstanding: because the public doesn't need the truth, the whole truth and nothing but nobody's truth (because he has read Don Antonio Machado), but a lie so beautiful and convincing that it makes us believe the fiction of truth.
Please excuse my rambling. It's the last day of the Jerez FestivalIt's been a very intense two weeks of coverage alongside my colleagues at ExpoFlamencoAnd by the end, you're practically brain-dead. Fatigue builds up, and your body sinks into your usual seat at the Villamarta, which has almost become your perfect fit. But it's time to open your eyes because The Lupi She is going to close the competition, and she deserves our full attention.
The Malaga-born flamenco dancer and teacher of flamenco dancers is a veteran artist and much loved worldwide. In her show The unpublishedThe stage is decorated with surreal objects: half-unpacked wooden crates, decapitated mannequins… And amidst all these elements, like something from a gloomy warehouse, she appears in garish yellow—defying bad luck—moving mechanically, like a doll. An inspired Ivan Amaya In the role of Pygmalion, he dictates her movements. The doll rebels, he corrects her, she hits him with the fan, and with this conflict the play begins.
It's a beginning that could have been nightmarish, but La Lupi clearly takes it into comedic territory. After the songs, superbly performed by Alfredo Tejada –The whole night was great!–The singer, the guitarist, and the percussionist start chatting amongst themselves, much to the dancer's annoyance. Then, when they resume playing, they can't wait to finish. The curtain immediately threatens to fall on her head. Later, cacophonies from the fairground seep onto the stage, creating total sonic chaos, and the situation becomes increasingly hilarious.
"A memory of the arms that cradled her, humming the Legion's anthem, a soleá apolá, and Charamusco's soleá... Enough to perform the exorcism, and to certify that La Lupi's spoken and danced confession amused us, interested us, and moved us. What does it matter if it's true or false?"
In a way, this succession of misfortunes forms the daily terror of anyone who steps onto a stage. And La Lupi summons them all, which is a good way to protect herself from them. You know, that thing about The Godfather: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. As if that weren't enough, the woman from Malaga ends up naked—figuratively speaking—on stage. Until she appears Miguel Ángel Corbacho, a dancer full of flamenco and classicism, who will star in a beautiful duet with La Lupi, as she will then do with Amaya, by bulerías, from a more contemporary register.
And as things come in threes, the spectacular shawl dance between Corbacho, Amaya, and Lupi herself will begin, culminating in a choreography about palmas and percussion and in the conversation between Lola Flores y little star castro from the film Flora Housewhich sounds like a rap to us before la lettre.
However, The highlight of the work has no dancing, not even music.It's the one where, in front of a microphone, La Lupi makes her general confession: yes, that old-fashioned thing, when even children were asked to recount all the sins of their lives, both venial and mortal. There, the dancer reveals some as poetic as "I confess to having mourned my feet," others more intimate, "I don't like my face when I dance," and one particularly damning one, like "I have forgiven myself for not being the dancer I wanted to be."
There's so much more: a memory of the arms that cradled her, humming the Legion's anthem; a soleá apolá; and the soleá de Charamusco, danced with the same mask that will eventually hang alongside the other accessories the dancer has shed… Enough to perform the exorcism, and to confirm that La Lupi's spoken and danced confession amused us, intrigued us, and moved us. What does it matter if it's true or false?
Credits
The unpublished, from La Lupi Company
XXX Jerez Festival 2026
Villamarta Theatre in Jerez
March 7th 2026
Choreography: La Lupi, Miguel Ángel Corbacho, Iván Amaya
External eye, scene 4: Eva Yerbabuena
Guitar: Antonio Gonzalez
Special collaboration: Curro de María
Cante: Alfredo Tejada
Percussion: David Galiano
Special collaboration on dance: Miguel Ángel Corbacho
Guest artists: Iván Amaya (dance)
A beautiful show. So many sensations and emotions… all flamenco dancers will have felt a connection!! I love La Lupi!!! And I loved this show!!! It was therapeutic!!!