Flamenco: Pasión En Peligro
Larry Marvar, Director
Wake Up Music Group
“As with the overall commercialization of the arts, we have seen flamenco packaged to ensure its attractiveness to tourists and students alike. These canned versions are arguably not Flamenco.” — Madeleine Y. Gomez, PhD.
Madeleine Gomez’s statement refers to the ongoing debate surrounding flamenco: tradition versus innovation. The recently released documentary, Flamenco: Pasión En Peligro, addresses the purity and authenticity of flamenco.
Flamenco evolved out of the cultures of the Moors, Romani people, and Sephardic Jews: three cultures viewed as outsiders, even outcasts. Later, as flamenco gained a foothold in southern Spain and then expanded into urban areas, three different groups — the church, the elites, and proletarian reformers — condemned flamenco as detrimental to morality, culture, and society.
Others, of course, had a different perspective. One of the first to exploit, commercialize, and gentrify flamenco was Francisco Franco, who governed Spain from 1936 to 1975. In the ‘50s, Spain’s national coffers were depleted. Franco needed revenue. The government sanitized flamenco to attract tourists. Ads began to appear with flamenco dancers: a woman dressed in red with a flower in her hair and a rose stem between her teeth.
The promotional scheme was successful. Tourists flocked to Spain, resulting in Spain’s economic prosperity during the ‘60s. Fast-forward to today’s world, when Catalan singer Rosalia attained huge international fame by fusing flamenco with innovative beats and elements of pop music. She was censured for cultural appropriation.
Other artists are also pushing the envelope, blending flamenco with flavors of rock, electronica, R&B, and jazz. Purists maintain that these innovations diminish flamenco, reducing it to something no longer recognizable as flamenco.
Gomez says, “The costumes, the hair combs, the footwork, the castanets, the excitement, will always be a part of the beauty of flamenco, but we must never forget that Flamenco Puro is so much more than that. We have no choice but to accept that the beautiful and rich art that is flamenco is indeed in danger.”
Flamenco: Pasión En Peligro conveys viewers into the experience and almost mystical aura of flamenco through the voices and performances of extant artists. As the executive producer of Flamenco: Pasión En Peligro, Madeleine Y. Gomez released the film through Wake Up Music Group, of which she is the CEO and founder.
According to Gomez, the making of Flamenco: Pasión En Peligro suffered its own dramatic storm.
“This documentary was completed thanks to the incredible support of producer/director, Larry Marvar, Diego Amador (flamenco star), and Associate Producer and flamenco star, Pedro Cortes.”
“We were literally ready to wrap everything up when one of the original stars basically tried to blackmail me. As this person had been a friend of mine, I admit I was a little bit lax in getting the paperwork signed, and when I presented it, this person said they would not sign unless I paid them monthly until the documentary was sold.”
“I was devastated and said there was no way I could comply with or fulfill that request. I had to tell them that they were no longer going to be part of the documentary. Not to mention, no longer my friend. Mind you, they had been paid for any contributions to the film up to that point.”
“I called Pedro Cortes, crying that I was not going to be able to finish. He calmed me down and rescued the whole project – bringing both La Susi and Diego Amador to the cast! I have no doubt that the gods and angels of flamenco were smiling.”
Accompanying the Five Continents International Film Festival award-winning documentary is the soundtrack, a twelve-track collection of flamenco music as performed by the preeminent artists of the art form, including La Susi, Peter Baime, and Diego Amador.
Suggested entry points include La Susi’s “La Rosa Cautiva,” with its gripping, passion-filled melody and La Susi’s expressive vocals — initially soft and moving, followed by gathering emotional fervency as she narrates the deep anguish of heartbreak.
On “Vengo De La Carbonera,” La Susi and Pedro Cortes team up to deliver a gorgeously affecting tune marinated in raw, aching feelings. Whereas Peter Baime’s “Rodena” parades his guitar virtuosity, beginning with gentle, coruscating colors, and then descending to quixotic tones, followed by an evocative outro.
“Fuente Serena” ties the album off with stylish aplomb. Chanting, mawwal vocals traveling over syncopated handclaps as gleaming, spectacular guitars offer delicious, vibrant tones.
The amalgamation of the documentary and the soundtrack reveals the final truth about flamenco: it’s a unique, complex language. ◼
