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When Mayte Martin’s concert ended on the second night of the XVIII Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival, the Flamenco Calle de Alcalá 2010 Award was presented to the maestro guitarist Enrique de Melchor, whose concert ended the evening.
The son of Melchor de Marchena brought with him a large group of artists. Among those who shared the stage with Melchor, the most impressive were the excellent flamenco flutist Juan Parrilla and singer Chato de Vélez. I’d seen Juan Parrilla on several other occasions and admired his talent for a long time, but Vélez was a discovery. With a clear and strong voice, he soon won me over, becoming in a single night one of my favorite backing singers...
On the 16th of February, the Catalan singer Mayte Martin opened the second night of the Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival accompanied by guitarist Juan Ramón Caro. The magnificent flamenco singer was even more affable than usual, joking with the audience and creating a welcoming, cozy environment, even though the concert took place in the enormous Circo Price Theatre in Madrid, which is in actuality a circus ring.
Shortly after taking the stage, an audience member shouted effusively “¡Guapa!” (Beautiful), to which Martin responded, “You’re not half bad either.” After singing several numbers, another spectator yelled “You sing better every day.” And Martin quipped, “She said it, but I know you were all thinking it.” They were both probably right. Martin presented an almost impeccable concert. Only when she began to sing a garrotín did she have to stop a few seconds so that the guitarist could adjust the key, and despite the rocky start, the garrotín was one of the evening’s most evocative pieces...
Flamenco.TV covered all four days of SIMOF, and we have the videos to prove it. Not all of the designers wanted to retransmit their fashion shows, but those that did want to share their designs have their videos on the Web site ready to be seen. Simply click on the names of the designers listed below to see the fashion shows.
Pilar Vera – Sevilla - “Cruz de Mayo”
Margarita Friere – Sevilla – “Pasión”
Curro Durán para Artesanía Ríos Quintana – Antequera, Málaga – “Atelier”
Melisa Lozano – Fuengirola, Málaga – “Dos Amores”
Trajes de Flamenca Mari Carmen Cruz – Villamanrique de la Condesa, Sevilla – “Mi Fondo Flamenco”
Rosalía Zahino – Almería – “La mar de coraje” & Encarna Solá, Sauco
Photo by ToritoMedia from Flickr of the Carmen Latorre Fashion Show
Just a few hours after publishing notification of the cancellation of Fernando Terremoto’s performance at the 2010 Jerez Festival, I learned from a French friend and flamenco lover that the famous flamenco singer from Jerez had passed away from a heart attack on February 13, 2010. He was only 40 years old.
Over 20 years ago, Fernando Fernández Pantoja, son of the also legendary Teremoto de Jerez, began his flamenco career as a guitarist, but debuted as a singer accompanied by the master guitarist Moraíto Chico at the Peña Don Antonio Chacón in Jerez in 1989.
Among the prizes Fernando won over the years, the most important include the first prize for singing in the Young Performers Contest at the IX Bienal de Flamenco in 1996 and the three National Prizes for Song (Manuel Torres for seguiriya and martinete; Niña de los Peines for soleá por bulería and bulería; and Antonio Chacón for malagueña and tarantos) awarded at the XV Concurso Nacional de Córdoba in 1998.
“Flamenco de calle” is an initiative of the Flamenco Artists Association and Sevilla city council, which has as objective to make closer the flamenco to the sevillan society. This rapprochement is important for the city because to enjoy this art nowadays, it’s necessary to wait for special events, festivals or to go to “tablaos, it’s a reality based on tourism more than on culture. The FAA will organize on March the circuit “Flamenco de calle”, and will organize performances in unusual places. The citizens have the possibility to know better this art, discover its essence and its quality. One of the objectives of “flamenco de calle” is to make possible the extension of the flamenco of good quality, real and different. A big variety of performance will take place during this month, and depending on the place, the shows will be different: traditional, solo of sing or play, modern style. The most important is to announce to everybody the variety it exists and the quality of this art, without forgetting that Sevilla will change a lot in spring, and you could enjoy the flamenco purity and sensibility.
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