De Dolores

Manuel Soto, Javier Ibáñez and Eduardo Guerrero

Featuring:

Eduardo Guerrero, dancer/choreographer

Manuel Soto, vocals

Javier Ibáñez, guitar

The Sonidos de Espana, Spanish Festival at the CCP capped a rainy week by presenting the return of De Dolores, the flamenco show featuring dancer and choreographer Eduardo Guerrero that took Manila by storm when it was first staged back in November 2012. Despite the threat of heavy rains (and the possibility of getting stranded again on the way home), I headed over to the Cultural Center of the Philippines to catch the first performance of this two night show held at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater).

The first glimpse that the audience had in this show was that of a barechested Eduardo Guerrero wearing what looked like a long, black skirt. One might be taken aback for his costume and his fluid movements at the beginning was more contemporary dance rather than flamenco. I guess that this was just the prologue that retold his pre-flamenco days. Soon enough, he started dressing up in his costume which was just hanging at one corner of the stage. With singer Manuel Soto and guitarist Javier Ibáñez entering the stage to provide the music, Guererro was soon dressed in a purple matador attire, with the black skirt he wore before actually being a pink cape when reversed. From then on until the end of the show, it was all unmistakably flamenco.

Watching a flamenco performance live is always a breathtaking experience. I was mainly drawn to Guerrero’s feet as they stomped and tapped utilizing the ball, heel and toe resulting in a complicated percussive sound that jived really well with Ibáñez’s guitar and Soto’s vocal parts. It amazed me that aside from just dancing, the body is also used as a musical instrument making the flamenco truly an audiovisual spectactle. Interesting also was the scraping of the foot on the floor that gave out a long sustained sound which was a nice contrast compared to the numerous rapid stomps and taps.

Guerrero had a couple more costume changes done offstage during the performance. The second had him wearing a modern day outfit which didn’t look too costumey. And his movements around this time reflected the costume change, it was more rounded and not as angular and rigid compared to the first part. During his third costume change, there was a noticeable change in his mood and demeanor. While Guerrero looked stern and serious during the first two parts, he was grinning by the third costume change. He was playing and showing off not only to his musicians but also to the audience as well while delivering the technical goods like quick stomps and taps, multiple turns and even a triple pirouette quickly followed by a double tours en l’air. All of this was met by roaring approval from the audience who were generous with their bravos. The playful atmosphere also continued during the encore as Soto showed that he could also dance the flamenco. The show ended with the three of them, dancing to the beat of the music, waving the audience goodbye as they exited the stage.

During Guerrero’s offstage costume changes, Soto and Ibáñez, had the spotlight on them as they performed solo numbers. One such number that left an impression on me was the duo’s rendition of Volver which I later learned was originally a tango song done by Carlos Gardel. The music that they performed throughout the night got me really curious that I ended up asking them questions about flamenco music during the cocktails after the show held at the Little Theater Lobby. It was difficult striking a conversation with them since my Spanish was as limited as their English. Javier even had to bring out his guitar and demonstrate and play the flamenco mode for me to understand what he was saying. Thankfully, whatever obstacle we encountered through our difference in our spoken languages was somehow bridged by the language of music which is universal.

Being the Gala Night, the show was preceded by welcome remarks from Spanish Ambassador Jorge Domecq and CCP Vice President and Artistic Director, Chris Millado. De Dolores was presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Embassy of Spain, Instituto Cervantes de Manila and Bench.