The future of flamenco is a great challenge: what will become of it in the next few years? At present, there is already plenty of fusion, cross-breeding, and new instruments which come from genres such as jazz, salsa, bossa nova, or from ethnic sounds that have different roots and regions of origin. In this field, the bands Pata Negra and Ketama, and later Navajita Plateá, have been the pioneers. Jazzmen like Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent and Chano Domínguez have also made a very important contribution. There is a marked division between the opinions of purists, and those of evolutionists who favour innovation.
The guitar
Nowadays, the guitar may be acquiring excessive prominence in flamenco. However, it is this instrument that has had the greatest effect and has developed the most within this art form, particularly if one considers that until the mid-twentieth century, the guitar playing lay in the background. However, at present, it is not uncommon to witness concerts that only feature guitar playing. Paco de Lucía started off this innovative period, and he has been the flamenco musician who has become most popular worldwide. His personal style has created a tradition, and he has been followed by other great guitarists like Cañizares, Riqueni, Tomatito and Vicente Amigo.
The dancing
Today, the bailaor (flamenco dancer) is more of a ballet dancer than was the case in the past, and this has been at the expense of depth. Matilde Coral argues that the technique has eaten up the artistry. Antonio Canales, Joaquín Cortés, Belén Maya, Israel Galván and Sara Baras have introduced elements of innovation and research into their dancing, and they have triumphed on stages at both a national and an international level. There is also another generation that keeps up the high quality, orthodox style of dancing. It includes Javier Barón, El Mistela, Javier LaTorre, Eva La Yerbabuena, Juan Ramírez, Joselito Fernández, Antonio El Pipa, Farruquito.
The singing
Some people believe that the eagerness to innovate and excessive orchestration have made flamenco singing lose authenticity, making it more commercial. Nonetheless, they have brought younger people who considered it an obsolete genre closer to flamenco. Camarón de Ia Isla and Enrique Morente have been the main innovators in the last twenty years. The first brought together musical elements from different milieux such as rock, salsa and pop music, and he introduced instruments that were very far removed from flamenco, like the drum kit and bass guitar, into songs that belong to the traditional palos (forms). In this way, he managed to attract a sizeable young audience to flamenco. However, it was Enrique Morente who, at sixty years of age, led the trend known as "new flamenco" or "young flamenco". In his latest offerings, he is returning to flamenco roots.
|
