REVIEW: Flamenco Algarabía, with special guest Arturo Sandoval

Review by Pasquale G. Tatò - Special Correspondent to Flamenco Buzz

Presented by Suffolk University & Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas

Director & Choreographer – José Barrios
Musical Director – Isaac Muñoz

November 29, 2011 - 8:00 pm
Suffolk University's Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street, Boston

BOSTON: For the fourth consecutive year (and for the second year at the beautifully renovated Modern Theatre), Suffolk University and the Fundación Casa Patas of Madrid have teamed up to present a stunning Flamenco performance by members of Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas: Flamenco Algarabía, with the very special participation of jazz legend Arturo Sandoval. This show served once more to highlight Suffolk University's commitment to its remarkable cultural exchange program with Spain, centered around its Madrid Campus.

Founded in 2000, Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas supports the study and advancement of Flamenco song, guitar, and dance through studio classes, master classes, seminars, and conferences.

This year, Director/Choreographer José Barrios and Musical Director Isaac Muñoz put together a wonderfully innovative show that considerably stretched our understanding of Flamenco, exploring the fusion of Flamenco with jazz, klezmer, Argentine tango, and the blues, all the while remaining faithful to traditional Flamenco styles and moods.



The Casa Patas company consisted of seven highly gifted performers: the same Isaac Muñoz and the accomplished David Durán on the guitar; the versatile Sudanese-born musician Wafir S. Gibril on accordion, lute, and percussion; the outstanding cantaores Gema Caballeros and Juan Debel; and two truly fantastic dancers: the same José Barrios and the dazzling Ana González.

For this show, the Casa Patas company was joined by world-renowned jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, a protégé of Dizzy Gillespie and winner of four Grammy Awards, six Billboard Awards, and an Emmy Award for his original score of For Love or Country, an HBO film based on his life.

The show opened with a captivating relatos, Among Whispers , featuring the entire ensemble in the dark and the dancers twirling unusual light fixtures, immediately establishing the two beautiful voices of the cantaores: the melodious, soulful voice of Ms. Caballeros and the husky, rich voice of a very young Mr. Debel, accompanied by the solid guitar playing of Messrs. Muñoz and Durán.

This first number, was followed in quick succession by a bulería, Vivarache, danced by Mr. Barrios, a fandangos, My Sister's Toy, and Trapatiesta, canciones infantiles, featuring both dancers in a potpourri of rhythms, with pranks and jokes.

The fetching Ms. González appeared on stage dressed as a mechanical doll, with Mr. Barrios twisting her arms into typical Flamenco poses, as if to wind her up. Later, helped by Mr. Barrios, Ms. González changed on stage into a lovely bata de cola and mantilla, in another creative and original twist that eased Ms. González into her next, beautifully danced solo piece, My Friend, a charming alegrías.

Mr. Sandoval finally made his entrance on stage, to great acclaim, for the next number, Laughing and Crying, a canción popular árabe, a contribution by the talented Mr. Gibril, who was featured on accordion. Mr. Sandoval and Mr. Gibril were again featured in the next number, an intriguing "marteña" (martinete-rondeña), My First Love.

At this point, the show took an interesting turn, fusing Andalusia and Argentina in one emotional embrace. The next number, Mother's Madness, an Argentine tango beautifully sung by Ms. Caballeros, was in fact a moving rendition of the well-known song Tango de las madres locas, written by Andalusian poet and singer/songwriter Carlos Cano and dedicated to the Argentine mothers of Plaza de Mayo (Con Malvinas o sin Malvinas / grito tu nombre por las esquinas, / mientras que los generales / se dan al Tango / por los portales.)

The Argentine theme continued in the next piece, Crazy Man Games, a balada tango, an adaptation of the famous 1969 tango ballad Balada para un loco by Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer, now considered a radical milestone in the history of Argentine tango music. This song's lyrics alternate spoken and sung sections which were respectively delivered, enriched with gorgeous Flamenco accents, by Ms. Caballeros and Mr. Debel. The piece was brilliantly danced by Mr. Barrios, who did not simply add Flamenco steps to this Argentine tango ballad, but acted it out, impersonating the loco, or madman, subject of the lyrics: "medio melón en la cabeza, / las rayas de la camisa pintadas en la piel, / dos medias suelas clavadas en los pies / y una banderita de taxi libre levantada en cada mano." (a half melon on the head, / a striped shirt painted on the skin, / two leather soles nailed to the feet, / and a taxi-for-hire flag up in each hand.) And that is indeed what Mr. Barrios was wearing. Truly amazing! All the while, Mr. Sandoval's trumpet and Mr. Gibril's accordion, together with the guitarists, accompanied Mr. Debel's haunting voice: "Quereme asi, piantao, piantao, piantao..." (Love me the way I am, crazy, crazy, crazy...).

The last number was Algazara (varios palos), another potpourri that featured a variety of Flamenco and other rhythms, including another lovely alegrías danced by Mr. Barrios and Ms. González, singing by Mr. Gibril, and even some Cuban lyrics. A brief fin de fiesta featured the entire ensemble, including once again Mr. Sandoval's trumpet and Mr. Gibril's accordion, concluding the show, which did not feature an intermission. Curtain calls followed to the accompaniment of circus music: unusual and provocative, but oh so beguiling and enrapturing!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Pasquale G. Tatò is a contributor to www.flamencobuzz.com who lives and works in the Boston area.