PUBLISHED NOVEMBER, 2009

NOVEMBER 2009 articles | Guitar | Paco Peña | Sevilla Memories

Meet Atlanta's five newest guitar students. By Erica Poole

May 2009 commemorated Fronteras' 5th birthday, in which its maturation was equated to a five year old beginning Kindergarten in 'flamenco school'. Herein lies yet another significance to that number, five male students are attending another kind of class in Atlanta's 'flamenco school'…guitar class under the guidance of Jean Pierre Verbist. Guillermo Maduro-Vázquez, Daniel Aguilera, Cyrus Gorm, Álvaro Cruz, and Danil Hardin met during the summer of this year when Marija Temo came to town in order to conduct a Guajiras workshop for dancers and guitarists. Since then, these gentlemen have remained learning in a group in order to work towards their shared goal of accompanying singers and dancers. Their current instructor, Jean Pierre, was ready to take on flamenco accompaniment after twelve years of playing solo guitar; he was ready for a change. (Fascinating how those years coincidentally span a K-12 education!)This determined guitar class is definitely on its way to belonging to a cuadro one day. Allow me to introduce each 'tocaor' to you.

Guillermo Maduro-Vázquez accompanies dancers and singers at a flamenco performance at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Photo by Christian Cea

Guillermo Maduro-Vázquez is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. His wife, Diana, introduced him to flamenco there when she danced for tourist shows with Rosario Galán's troupe. It wasn't until their two older children, Leo and Gabby, started taking flamenco dance lessons with Julie Baggenstoss that he realized how into it they were. With his self-taught knowledge of classical/tropical guitar, he figured he would help them out at some point. Since Temo's workshop, he hasn't looked back. In terms of learning flamenco guitar, Guillermo views flamenco as a social event and feels that he learns better in such an environment. Guillermo is a phenomenal singer who also enjoys composing his own 'letras' as well. He is also not afraid to let loose a 'pataíta' por bulerías either in order to gain a better appreciation of the roles of other participants. Guillermo admires Tomatito as his favorite guitarist for his "minimalistic approach which is perfectly balanced and subtlety nuanced". As a left-handed guitarist, Guillermo studies outside of class by using his music modification software to adjust pitch and tempo. This makes it easier for him to figure out falsetas and a proper pitch for his voice.

Daniel Aguilera (left) plays guitar with others, including Jean Pierre Verbist and Danil Hardin (right).

Daniel Aguilera is from México. He learned to play guitar at age 16 and decided to take flamenco guitar classes after having attended the Atlanta Institute of Music. Daniel reads sheet music as well as plays by ear. Outside of formal class, he puts in about 8 hours of practice time a week. Daniel's model guitarist is Vicente Amigo because "he has a style that is new but has old roots". As a right-handed guitarist, Daniel strengthens his playing technique by counting and playing palmas. His "aha" moment occurred when he learned about flamenco clock compás.

Cyrus Gorm accompanies singers and dancers at a performance in Roswell. Photo by Dalilia .

Cyrus Gorm hails from New Haven, Connecticut. Flamenco first inspired him in his elementary school years. Cyrus decided to formally take guitar lessons after assisting with Rina Menosky's por alegrías y bulerías de Cádiz class that performed in Fronteras 2009. Like Daniel, Cyrus is right-handed, reads sheet music, and plays by ear as well. Weekly, he clocks between 5-7 hours of practice time a week. Niño Ricardo is his 'guitarrista ideal' because of "his persona and approach to the flamenco guitar that embodies the very art of flamenco itself." At this moment, Cyrus feels that 'guajiras' is his strongest palo and that 'bulerías' gives him the most challenges because he really has to pay attention to the tricky compás sequences. Cyrus, like all of these mentioned players, is a familiar face at Atlanta Peña Flamenco Socials and always volunteers 'toque'. When asked if he uses any kind of device to remember newly taught melodies, Cyrus replied, "I have a photographic memory, so I use my brain to record new melodies, chords, etc."

Álvaro Cruz plays guitar during a flamenco presentation at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Photo by Christian Cea

Álvaro Cruz's roots are in Ixmiquilpan, México. He started playing in church along with some Mexican folk songs that in comparison to flamenco, he feels that Mexican style chords are much simpler. His exposure to flamenco began a year and half ago when his wife, Selina, began taking flamenco classes. He began to hear the music more and more, and its infectious rhythm hooked both him and his 3 year old daughter who is taking a flamenco kids class. He enjoys the family fun that the combination of guitar, dancing, and singing evokes. Paco Peña is his idol flamenco guitarist because he admires his technique, sound, and that the clear rhythm moves him. With his wife serving as his accompanying bailaora, Álvaro develops his playing skills with a basic 'farruca' while still keeping up his 'guajiras'. Like Cyrus, bulerías is Álvaro's most difficult palo at this time. Álvaro grew up left-handed, but was not allowed to use his left hand in México, so he learned to be ambidextrous. He strums with his right hand and is trying to build up the strength to move the left hand more quickly.

Danil Hardin began playing guitar in 2005, and has since built a repertoire that includes alegrías, bulerías, guajiras, fandangos, soleá, and tientos/tangos. YouTube was Danil's source of inspiration after viewing Jason McGuire play. Danil knows the social value of flamenco for it lends itself to the creation of an atmosphere that creates memorable moments such as the one he shared with Pedro Cortez in Minneapolis.

The Tools of their Trade

Among flamenco dance students, we have common vocabulary such as 'planta', 'golpe', 'tacón', etc. Thus, I have compiled a short list of guitar technique terminology as defined by this quintet. Moreover for dancers, investigating which brand/design of flamenco shoe to adorn our feet is a very personal choice. Therefore, I asked the guys to educate us as to the qualities that they collectively look for in a well-made, flamenco guitar. It should posses:
 
a) Low string action for easier 'rasgueos' and overall percussive effect
 
b) Lightweight for brilliance
 
c) The ' j'ne sais quoi' of pure subjectiveness. It speaks to you, or it doesn't.
 
d) Spanish craftsmanship with a cut-away body to be able to further reach higher notes.
 
e) Earthy, gritty tones in the lower registers with an overall "old school" look to it.

Flamenco Guitar Terms
 
Aros - the two curvaceous indentations on the sides of the guitar
 
Alzapúa - playing with the back of your thumbnail going upward
 
Pulgar - guitar notation shows a "p" when the thumb should play a guitar string
 
Golpe - percussive finger tapping on the soundboard either above or below the strings
 
Ligado - sounding the note with the fingers of the left hand only

'Flamenco School' has been in session for a while now all across Atlanta. Dancers, singers, and guitarists are all being mentored and groomed simultaneously in order to all eventually graduate to that attainable 'escenario = stage' of improvisation! Guillermo, Daniel, Cyrus, Álvaro, and Danil have taken the first 'pasos' towards flamenco accompaniment. In the influential words of Paco de Lucía, "The voice first, then rhythm…all the rest comes after." ¡Así se toca!

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Paco Peña Company Dancers Instruct 30 Master Class Lottery Winners to Induce Compás. By Erica Poole

Above, top: Ángel Muñoz teachs braceo and marcaje, used to accompany a letra. Above, middle: Charo Espino gives a femenine style for dancers to watch. Above, bottom: Ramón Martínez brings un chicle grande into the class, to pull together structure, feeling and compás.

If the charismatic game show host, Richard Dawson, from TV's classic "Family Feud" were to ask with 15 seconds on the clock, "Name the top 3 reasons why a dancer cannot practice flamenco," what would the survey say? Perhaps the responses would range from:
 
3: No wooden/marley floor
2: No CD/no guitar
1: No choreography.
 
SURVEY SAID: X X X!

Thirty flamenco dance students headed toward Several Dancers Core in Decatur for a master class with the Paco Peña Flamenco Guitar and Dance Company in October. Due to a scheduling conflict at the studio, we found ourselves rerouted to a dusty back room in an unoccupied commercial building. For lease sign in front, checkered tiles covered a concrete floor inside, without a sound system. Paco Peña Company dancers Ángel Muñoz, Ramón Martínez, and Charo Espino patiently waited outside on a bench ready to go with the flow of whatever the flamenco tides brought. Although concrete is an unresponsive floor that is not a good surface for long term practicing, we slipped on our flamenco shoes to capitalize on our hour with this accomplished trio.

Tangos was the featured palo of the afternoon. Muñoz, a statuesque flamenco dressed in an ivory shirt, commenced with 'braceo' and 'marcaje' warm up ultimately leading to a left-sided 'desplante' that would call in the forthcoming letra. Without music, his breathing served as our compás. In between Spanish directives of what to do next, he uttered from within a combination of jaleos and 4-count rhythmic, guttural, and primal pulses.

Espino, 'la flor feminina' of the three, served as the visual lead for those on the left side of the room, and Muñoz sprinkled himself in different spots on occasion to give others a good vantage point. Following him made me realize that although nothing substitutes for clearly hearing compás, in addition you have to carry it so deeply within your core that you become compás. Although we were not expected to make the same vocal sounds, they illustrated what should be done when there is no CD, no guitar, and no cante accompaniment.

About 25 minutes later, Martínez, an animated character well-dressed in an ebony shirt/scarf combo complimentary to Muñoz's ivory shirt, stepped forward to teach us where to place the previously learned desplante. It's essential to note that we were not taught a chronological choreography per se from beginning to end, but rather given tools out of order in order to train us to know where to arrange them. Yes, we left with the framework and 'pasos' to insert 'llamada,' dance an entire letra, and 'rematar.'

Yet the greater goal was to intuitively take the dissected pieces and know where they belong in tangos structure. How on earth did we accomplish all that in an hour? Martínez's playfulness made us forget just how much material we were covering! To begin, he demonstrated a footwork combination that he annunciated something like this:
 
Right side: ba um ba um BA!
Left side: ba um ba um BA!
Right side: ba um ba um BA!
BEE... BA UM!

Ramón Martínez brought smiles to faces with his animated, spirited style of teaching.

Martínez encouraged us to really make the emotional faces that would summon the steps with the most convincing power given the playfulness of por tangos. Do you know that he even encouraged us to chew gum? Hypothetical gum that is! His analogy of really masticating compás slowly and dramatically as if it were a thick wad of gum would make our pasos stick to the floor and to our bodies. Unexpectedly, this footwork series more seamlessly connected to Muñoz's desplante combo which eased us into letra.

And oh, what a letra it was. I have lost count as to just how many times I've heard the tangos letra, "Ponte Guapa Mariquilla," but I have NEVER heard it sung quite like Martínez's spin on it. That letra had the most wearisome and comical slant of all! Y, ¿Sabes qué?...¡no pasa nada!

What is important to know is that Martínez was demonstrating the art of cross-training: singing for yourself and for others even if you are not the principal cantaor. No matter how the cante comes out, you will know where you are in compás.

He supplied us with a right-sided desplante and another series of pasos to 'rematar.' Once Martínez realized that we had a bit more instructional time, he taught side steps with accents of 'punta' to perform during "Ja lee, Ja lee, Ja lee, Ja lee, Ja lee, Ja lee, Ja lee um," ultimately leading to his desplante version and finishing with a left profile head/body turn. We took all the elements "from the top" numerous times so that we would be able to take them home, "llevarlos a casa," as Martínez, Muñoz, and Espino collectively wished.

Now, let's go back and rephrase the Richard Dawson game show host question to the affirmative and advance it to the speed bonus round. In an effort to name THE number one answer, "What internal stimulus does a dancer need in order to practice flamenco?" SURVEY SAID: COMPÁS!

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Atlanta flamenca shares her travel memoir of Sevilla, España By Erica Poole

This is the second of a series of reports on Erica Poole's recent trip to Spain. Read her previous report in the jaleole.com archive.

Chapter 4: Sevillanas en el Salón

On my first evening of this two-week trip, Kirsten and I briefly sat in Mamá Reyes' living room when suddenly a group on television began to sing sevillanas. Mamá Reyes pulled back the table, and she and I began to dance them in her living room while Coco, the talking parrot, gave jaleos and clicked palmas with his beak! Very quickly she exclaimed, "Despacito!" I've witnessed that when Sevillanos dance their sevillanas, they leave a lot of "breathing room" in between pasadas, no matter the copla. Many take their pasos slowly and easily, as she was insisting that I do. Hmm, do you wonder if I got to dance sevillanas again…maybe this time more slowly? Read on!

Chapter 5: A Lo Divino

After my first day of class on Monday morning, Kirsten and I latched onto our classmate, Troy. It was his first visit to Sevilla as well, but he had an uncanny ability to navigate himself around town easily. He was more than happy to help us find our way back home, but he needed to make a stop into an Internet café called "Internetia" on Calle Menendez y Pelayo. That was more than fine with us, as we appreciated his help. We walked in and who called my name? One of my flamenco teachers, Rina Menosky! Although I knew that Rina was already in Sevilla, I had not had an opportunity to contact her yet, tell her where I was, nor fill her in on my concrete schedule so that we could plan a time to meet. Divinely, she was already in the same place at the same time, and thanks to Troy, we found each other at the very beginning of my trip (when I would have needed to see her the most).

Later that evening, Rina filled me in on all the local flamenco happenings by providing me advice in addition to the free brochures, Flama and El Giraldillo. These are two must have monthly publications, found in most bars, that will help anyone venture into flamenco territory!

Chapter 6: ¿Te quiero un huevo?

As Kirsten and I went souvenir shopping, we encountered lots of t-shirts with the phrase "Te quiero un huevo," which literally equates to, "I love you as much as an egg." I could have extended that phrase to read, "I love you as much as a potato, bread, and pork," because the Spanish diet thrives on these staples! I had a hard time adjusting to the starchiness of these foods on a daily basis, but I found solace in some dishes, such as spinach croquettes, mushroom and Mediterranean vegetable quiches, and grilled chicken breast sprinkled with raisins and pine nuts in a sweet wine sauce.

After morning classes, held from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Centro Mundo Lengua had many afternoon and evening activities planned for us, which included going out for tapas. On some occasions, we had pre-arranged for a bar to close to the public just to accommodate feeding us traditional foods such as salty green olives, manchego cheese with jamón serrano drizzled in olive oil, tortilla española, salmorejo, and seafood and chicken paellas. We exploried historical landmarks where our admission fees were paid, such as El Real Alcázar, Hospital de la Caridad, La Plaza de Toros, Museo de Bellas Artes, Museo del Baile Flamenco, la Catedral y Giralda just to name a few.

In one such excursion, "tapeamos" in a restaurant called Taberna de los Coloniales, we had the nicest waitress I had experienced in Sevilla (remember that tipping is not expected, as it is built into the price of the meal). A fellow teacher in our group, a cubana named Ibis, loved to elicit songs out of anyone that wished to join her, including our waitress at the Taberna. After about 6 of their duets of famous Latin songs, Rosana (another teacher, but an española) began to sing the first verse of "Sevillanas Para Conquistar", which starts "Mírala cara a cara que es la primera"…the one sevillana that I know in its entirety! Why did Rosana choose to sing that one and not "Sevillana Del Adiós" instead? Divine, I tell you!

So Rosana started me off, and the waitress and I sang the entire first copla while our tour guide Antonio played palmas for us! What I initially learned to sing for Rina Menosky for performances at Cuerno Restaurant in Atlanta, helped me months down the road at an unlikely juncture. Truly unforgettable!

Visit jaleole.com again and see the next chapter of Erica's memoir: "Tablao."

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