After his first book, Blue velvet, from 2022, Manuela Reina, born in Paradas –Seville– in 1976, continues her career with this second one, Immune refugeIn the first one, the author of the prologue, Pive AmadorIt highlights how Manuela, "like Saint John of the Cross, appears alienated, searching for that indefinable something, which is pure poetry." We discussed the first work in a digital newspaper. Cultural LightThere was an undercurrent of disenchantment, of pain, as in the poem Free Soul (p.27):
Don't try to give free rein,
that you already paid the consequences
of giving everything in exchange for nothing.
Yes, you did it for love.
There are also signs of hope and overcoming adversity, as well as metapoetic reflection on the inspiration and necessity of poetry—its saving, healing power. In the optimistic poem Blue skyThe poem, which begins "A blue sky will shine again, Machado, on days without poetry…", enthusiastically declares: "Thank you, inspiration, for not abandoning me." Using mostly free metrical forms, but also others like the décima or the soleá, and occasionally mixing verse with prose, Manuela Reina has published a debut book of poems, primarily about love, ranging from hope to disillusionment, with a personal and intimate tone that runs throughout the work. She believes they will serve, as she says, as a form of self-defense, a liberation, a way to protect herself in difficult times. There is a soleá in the book that is particularly appealing:
There is no greater freedom.
that sparkle in your eyes
when they see me looking at you.
Here the Link to the full review.
With Immune refuge He continues his poetic expression, delving deeper into the same themes with greater personal courage, denouncing hypocrisy in his case. But I will focus, due to the nature of ExpoFlamenco, in the flamenco aspect. Manoli Reina grew up in a family environment with a strong passion for flamenco. flamenco And in the end, this shows. She felt the need to write some flamenco lyrics or verses, preferably in three- or four-line stanzas. Several pages, from 34 to 38, contain two sections: one, "Soleares of Three Verses," and the other, "Soleares of Four Verses." This doesn't preclude some other pieces in the book from also being considered flamenco lyrics, but these are the ones the author herself has described as such.
I think that of the fourteen songs that make up these two sections, some are more, shall we say, flamenco than others, not so much because of their quality but because of their language and approach, since we already know the expressive peculiarities of the lyrics. Among the less flamenco-like ones, in principle, are some like the following:
Flattering beggars,
reversible with talent
harlequins of emptiness
who dance in leeward.
I looked for her but couldn't find her.
when I needed it most,
caress of your innermost being,
I am grateful for the agony.
But most of them fit into a more flamenco interpretation, and therefore their adaptation to cante It might be easier. They're in the theme of love, and they're three verses long:
I feel shadows of emptiness.
– the emptiness of your shadows-,
alienating my groans
if you mention me in your silence.
I watch life go by
without any desire for redemption,
May words end badly.
that break a heart.
I despise cowards
who deny having lived
when they needed it most
the shoulder of a good friend.
We say goodbye with a saeta (a type of religious song) that she has written with skill and with the devotion that characterizes the author in her personal life, closely related to the brotherhood activities of her town:
Saeta to the Virgin of Sorrows of Paradas
Like a passion rose,
with a dagger of revenge
They open their hearts to you.
I no longer believe in words,
Our Lady of Sorrows.
They bring you here weeping blood,
bearers of your love.
The betrayal of your son
It is a redemptive duel.
Link to the book presentation in Seville, magnificent, and with touches of cante:
And here's the colleague Jose Maria Castano the interview about teaching, flamenco and equality:
Photos: Author's archive. Family photos of Manuel Bascón, Faustino Montero, Manuel Martín, Beni de Paradas and Claudia Macho.
→ Manuela Reina, Immune refugeSeville, Ediciones Con M de Mujer, 2025
