Theater Review

Tango & Flamenco Fusion at Thalia

by Miguel Falquez-Certain

Published by The Woodside Herald on 3/3/06

It seems like a crazy idea when you think about it. There’s no way you’ll be able to get these two so diverse styles of music, song and dance to coalesce. It would be such a mess – more confusion than fusion, you assume. However, I’m happy to report that you will be completely wrong, because Ángel Gil-Orrios has done it again. Conceived, produced, designed and directed by Mr. Gil-Orrios, he’s been able to put together a splendid and delightful show that will be appreciated by both aficionados and experts alike.

When the stage lights up, Spanish flamenco guitarist Daniel Casares and Uruguayan bandeonist Raúl Jaurena, both of whom have had independent shows at Thalia before, dominate the scene from a platform upstage. On the left, Jorge Longo on double bass and Octavio Brunetti on piano. On the right, Sean Kupisz on cajón and Marco Granados on flute. To get you used to this bold proposition, they will ease you into classic tangos, tangos-flamencos, and habaneras. And when you finally let yourself go, captivated as you are by the brilliance of their interpretations, the fiesta really begins. Cancionista Margo Mitchell will take one of Federico García Lorca’s poems and turn it into a tango song; cantaora Irene Salas (a/k/a Chanela) will reinvent songs from the tango canon by giving them a flamenco twist. Tango partners Carolina Jaurena and Carlos Acuña and Sandra Buratti and Walter Pérez will barge into the stage with sinuous, elegant moves that will grab your immediate attention, while bailaores Aurora Reyes and Yloy Ybarra will tap and stomp their presence into your hearts and imagination. And they do not stop there: they intermingle and take over one another’s territory with intelligence and grace.

Mr. Casares, the talented twenty-five-year-old flamenco guitarist, has a couple of tricks up his sleeve: on two occasions he stopped the show with his intricate finger work and brilliant rendition of both tango and flamenco standards. He looks more relaxed, with sure command of the stage, and it shows: his shifting positions on his chair, his eloquent smiles, his nonchalant, unruly mane coming beautifully alive confirm one thing: he’s having the time of his life.

On the other hand, Mr. Jaurena, a surefooted veteran with an amazing curriculum to prove it to boot, takes the stage by storm. He masterfully moves from tango to flamenco and back with such brilliant smoothness that it will take your breath away. Rich and versatile, Mr. Jaurena knows how to weave the tango web with no deception but with savoir-faire. And you will be thankful for it.

The centerpiece is an homage to Carlos Gardel, el zorzal criollo [The Creole Thrush], the sensuous baritone and tango’s first superstar allegedly born in Toulouse, France, who died in an airplane crash in Medellín, Colombia, in 1935, when he was 44 and at the height of his career. With his handsome face projected on a transparent screen over the upstage platform, Ms. Salas and Ms. Mitchell both interpret “Mi Buenos Aires querido” [My Beloved Buenos Aires] and “Volver” [To Return], Gardel-trademarks, from the deep recesses of their respective singing styles. And it works, although it is a pity they do not offer more.

Furthermore, Mr. Marco Granados works magic with his flute, creating a sort of melodic transition to both styles, accompanied by the deep vibrato of Mr. Longo’s bowed double-bass and by Mr. Kupisz’s percussion. And among all this, Mr. Brunetti’s rich, virtuoso piano renditions.

All in all, you will have a marvelous uninterrupted one-and-a-half hour show that will make you tingle in your seats – if they would only give you a chance to mingle with the stars!

© 2006 Miguel Falquez-Certain