The flames of flamenco

Dragging an old man’s wobbly legs along Calle Muralla in Intramuros with my young constant companion, Kristoffer, on a late Saturday afternoon, I had an uncanny feeling that I had trod this leafy lane before. This déjà vu intensified when I crossed the gateway to the Baluarte de San Diego. I was certain I had passed this way before. Was it in the recent past? Or when I was a little boy in a sailor suit brought by a doting foster father to the Walled City to visit the Aquarium? Or in another life long, long ago?

A breeze blew in from the bay, cool for a tropical summer and quite welcome.

Lines from Juan Ramon Jimenez, the Andalucian poet, came to my mind: Over the still-flowering roses the afternoon slowly declines. The glow of the sunset catches the last roses and the whole garden, rising like a flame of fragrance toward the blaze of the setting sun…

There was no scent of roses in this garden, but there were many other blossoms that caught the glitter of a thousand tiny lights strung like rosary beads. There were no church bells to chime the Angelus at sundown.

There were only the national anthems of the Philippines and of Spain to preface this presentation by the Department of Tourism with the cooperation of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Intramuros Administration. On this evening, "Concert Nights at the Old Walls" featured Una Noche de España, a program of songs and dances that ignited the flames of flamenco performed by members of the Fundacion Centro Flamenco.

The opening remarks of Secretary Leticia Ramos-Shahani, presidential adviser on culture, attested to the strong historical and cultural ties between Filipinos and Spaniards.

The señoritas of the foundation – Cecile de Joya, Tats Manahan, Ginajane Grey, Mayette Jamilla and Audrey General – delivered a sedate theatrical account of the popular number from the zarzuela La Boda de Luis Alonso by Geronimo Gimenez of Seville. Traipsing in their heels to the recording of the Intermedio from the musical drama, the ladies in their costumes were a stunning vision in fiery scarlet and black.

Sacramonte presented Señor Don Guillermo Gomez who mesmerized his audience with the masculine grace of the torero taunting the bull with his blood–red cape and then poised with his barandillas face to face with the beast, a prelude to the moment of truth.

Tangos featured Marian Zapanta, Pearl Mannerfelt, Astrud Crisologo, Cookie Guerrero and Sylvie Manghardt dancing the flamenco to the music of guitars and cajon, a box-like percussion played in much the same manner as a drum.

The Spanish tango is not as familiar as the Argentinean variety. The example performed by the dancers, who swayed with serpentine grace, used music that had a distinctively Moorish strain. It must be noted that during the Middle Ages, the Moors from North Africa poured into the Iberian Peninsula and established a kingdom in Granada. The castle of Alhambra testifies to the splendor of their civilization. It was only during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella that they were finally driven out of Spain, but the influence of their art and culture has remained.

The last two numbers of the first half of the show – Por Soleares performed by Audrey and Mayette and Rumbas danced solo by Cecile – displayed more aspects of the flamenco.

The origin of the flamenco is unknown. Many musicologists opine that it was derived from Hebrew, Arabic, Byzantine, or even ancient Egyptian sources. A contemporary authority, Ricardo Fernandez de Latorre, asserts that it is no more than 200 years old, and it is "an offspring of Andalucian peasant songs centered on work, love, life, and death." And the fact that Gypsies have excelled in the art does not necessarily indicate that it is of Romany origin. The Gypsies have only embellished the art and carried it to the highest order of perfection as dance and song. What is generally believed is that it sprouted from the extreme south of Spain – Andalucia.

In the first century A.D., the Roman poet Martial wrote of "the excellence of dancers from the area of Cadiz."

During the great age of exploration, the galleons of Spain sailed from the port of Cadiz in Andalucia, crossed the Atlantic and discovered the Americas. Columbus found his New World. Cortez conquered the Aztecs of Mexico and Pizarro the Incas of Peru. And Magellan crossed the Pacific in search of spices, and landed on our islands.

I was a restless wanderer in the days of my youth and wandered through Spain with a knapsack and a few pesetas in search of truth and beauty and art. I found what I was looking for everywhere in the Cathedral of Toledo gleaming with the gold of Montezuma and Atahualpa, and in El Greco’s masterpiece, "The Death of Count Orgaz." I tasted the wine from the vineyards of Alicante and the sherry of Malaga, the best of their kind in the world. In the countryside, I saw orchards of oranges and pomegranates, and olive groves. In Madrid I watched the bullfights. I explored the labyrinth of the Prado and was stunned by "The Crucifixion" of Zurbaran, the Infantas of Velasquez and Goya’s majas. And in a dim cave-like inn, I was awed by three Gypsies dancing the flamenco.

After the inspirational message of Ambassador Tomas Rodriguez Pantoja of the Embassy of Spain, a scholar and artist, Cecile, Ginajane and Tats came on stage again with castanets and stamped their heels in Bulerias.

Guitarists Raj Mansukhani and Miguel Nañawa and cajon player Vic Mercado demonstrated the expressive possibilities of their ensemble. Again the melodic lines of the guitar echoed the influence of the moors and the Arabians.

Gomez came back with Erlinda Gamboa to dance Sevillanas. Their steps were punctuated with cries of encouragement from the rest of the Fundacion – "Ole! Ole! Ole!"

Five of the ladies delivered more Tangos. A taped vocalist wailed an old melismatic Moorish melody as the dancers whirled and turned in gay abandon.

Don Quixote suddenly came to my mind, and the windmills of La Mancha. I was hungry. After the show, I wanted a Spanish dinner, hie over to SM City Manila and dine at Dulcinea. I’d order champignon al ajillo, mejillones al horno and zarzuela de mariscos from favorite waiter Jheng or counter girls Angela and Jho. And for dessert, churros con chocolate. I wish they could serve sangria instead of Coke in can.

In their finale, the ladies invited members of the audience to dance on the stage – first Secretary Shahani, next Ambassador Pantoja. I fled to the exit, meeting "Concert Nights at the Old Walls" project coordinator Zenas Lozada on the way to congratulate her for a delightful dance concert.

Una Noche de España defined the spirit of flamenco. It is emotion. It is feeling that ranges from the depths of despair to the heights of ecstasy.

As I walked up Calle Muralla with Kristoffer, I realized that I was walking with lighter steps, nearly as light as the dancers of Cadiz.

A crescent moon beamed down its silver rays on the Walled City.

* * *

For comments, write to jessqcruz@hot mail.com..