It's a joy to see a female flamenco guitarist performing solo on stage, regardless of whether she's a peña or a grand theater. And if they play really well, even better. The Lorca native. Mercedes Lujan She is gradually establishing herself in a prominent position thanks to her skill and her ability to demonstrate that, without conforming to or revealing which school she belongs to, she can sound flamenco, modern, and classical all at once. I like her right hand when she strums and gives the guitar a solid sound, whether it was one of the two she brought to the recital she gave in the Peña The Silversmith (Granada) on the night of Saturday, April 18.
His technique is refined; he doesn't miss a note, he knows the rhythm, and he revels in pieces like the soleá with which he began, playing with timing, offbeats, and syncopation with astonishing ease. It sounds like a soleá when it needs to sound like a soleá, and the same goes for all his other pieces. In other words, you don't have to wait a minute to see what he's doing, as happens with other guitarists who, although among the best around, make it difficult to understand such an advanced, modern language, which dilutes the essence of the playing. In Mercedes, even when he's venturing into the avant-garde, he maintains that prudence and understanding that what he plays sounds... flamenco.
Thus, the Malagueñas sounded classic and without excessive embellishment, a touch to cante all with Isabel Rico by La Peñaranda, from Ronda Hyacinth Almaden remembering in the letter a Rafael Romero and fandango of Peppermint Bottle.
Mercedes gradually unfolded a good portion of her only album on the market, now tackling modern bulerías with falsetas that hinted at details from different geographical schools and guitarists without settling on any single style. What I missed was finding more defined falsetas, not in the bulería itself, which were present, but in the rest of the pieces. There were numerous chord progressions, very well-rounded tonal sequences, but lacking specific content where she could further demonstrate her creative capacity and the technique she possesses.
"It's a joy to see a female flamenco guitarist performing solo on stage, regardless of whether she's a..." peña or a grand theater. And if she plays exceptionally well, even more so. Mercedes Luján, from Lorca, is capable of sounding flamenco, modern, and classical all at once.
It grated on me when he commented, before playing guajiras with a marked Cuban accent, that he had researched for years Pepe Marchena stating that it dates back to the 1920s when he incorporated the guajira into flamencoIt would hurt him Owl to know it when, already in a wax cylinder at the end of the 19th century, he incorporated it into his repertoire, or Manuel Escacena in 1908. However, he executed a very precise tremolo that led to rhythmic sequences closer to a song than a guajira, but injecting the essence of this music. He accompanied it with a tambourine. Carmen Estévez and palmas by Isabel Rico. I was left wanting to enjoy specific falsetas that went beyond the wheel of chords and embellishments.
He then played the taranta that earned him the SGAE Paco de Lucía award. He possesses a remarkable talent for the creativity of the intros to all his pieces, which should culminate in falsetas to truly reveal his signature style, his personality, and his creative capacity. The taranta had the feel of a dance-like playing, gentle and sweet at the same time, to which he added well-placed strumming in the breaks. In this exposition of motifs, I appreciated the sensitive tremolo he employed, although I felt the taranta was somewhat unfinished because it was, once again, based on the tonal chord progression.
She performed a wide and dynamic repertoire, continuing with alegrías, playing with the tempos and using a modern, avant-garde sound. Later, Isabel Rico sang again, this time fandangos from Santa Bárbara, which Mercedes told us are no longer in use, and included sonic details dedicated to... Child Michael, the great boss of the Huelva style.
He resumed playing the bulerías rhythm with the song Heart of Godwith a renewed and modern feel. The surprise came when he played tangos in the key of a rondeña, with a diminished 6th and 3rd chord, original in its tuning, baroque, which he introduced in the cante a customized version of the seguiriya by Juanichi the Handler Isabel's side. The tangos, it must be said, are a delight at a compositional level, full of embellishments and musical drawings perfectly fitted into a melodic continuum.
As the evening drew to a close, the bulerías returned with catchy choruses in the melody of canteAlthough they were very brief. And a grand finale with bulerías, the fourth. She showed that she's good with the twelve-beat rhythm and accompanying. Isabel remembered Camarón de la Isla with At dawn, from the Plazuela, of Nougat maker, Fernanda, from the master of the Alcores Antonio Mairena and The Macanita.
Credits
Guitar recital by Mercedes Luján
Peña The Silversmith, Granada
18 April 2026.
Guitar: Mercedes Luján
PalmasIsabel Rico, Carmen Estévez
CanteIsabel Rico
