The artistic expression of the flamenco surpassed the borders of Spain on Wednesday evening as the sound of hands clapping, feet stamping and guitars echoed in Istanbul's Kadıköy from an event organized by Cervantes Institute to celebrate UNESCO adding flamenco to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Istanbulites who followed the call of flamenco united around the range of feelings and states of mind blended with joy and grief associated with the tradition. Also as a former student of Istanbul's Cervantes Institute, it was an inexpressible moment for me to witness this great event.
At the beginning of the event, Istanbul's Cervantes Institute Director Fernando Vara De Rey Irezabal took the stage with Turkish guitarist Kerem Can Özpekel to express his deepest condolences for the recent terrorist attack that took at least six lives, leaving many injured. Highlighting the fraternal ties between Türkiye and Spain, he said: "Istanbul is an immortal city and it has the stamina to deal with this great suffering. I hope that tonight, with Spanish flamenco, we would offer consolation for people."
The event was offered free of charge and the great hall of Kadıköy's Barış Manço Cultural Center was packed with people, without an empty seat to be found, people stood and sat in the hallway to explore the dance of passion, and flamenco. "We are not scared. Look at this hall, it bulges at the seams. Whatever happened on Sunday did not make us scared," guitarist Özpekel said, also thanking his first master of the guitar, his father.
While it is an art associated with Spain as it is rooted in Andalusia's Murcia and Extremadura regions, flamenco is a culture that belongs to us all as it mirrors the most basic human expressions in a wide range of situations, telling us something familiar. This dazzling art form combines three aspects, singing (cante), dance (baile) and music (toque).
The dazzling team of artists consisted of Rafita de Madrid as the singer, Sara Sanchez as the dancer and Adrian Jimenez Garcia in percussion.
Even though there were just four people seated on stage, the music and the rhythmic composition could be compared to an orchestra as the tempo was extremely fluid throughout their performance. Flamenco is all about rhythmic perfection with the support of clapping (palmas), and the artists did not miss a beat throughout the one-hour up-tempo performance as their shoulders jolted and sometimes their faces leaped forward in an unconscious physical externalization of the silent beats to keep the rhythm. Most of the time, flamenco performances, as in this one, employ off-beats (contratiempos) which takes the music to the edge as artists love that danger.
The tunes of guitarist Kerem Can Özpekel, who was born into a family of musicians and became infatuated with the flamenco guitar by listening to the phenomenon Paco de Lucia, were strong. He played the songs from his latest album, "Cuatro Naranjas," ("Four Oranges") which is produced by flamenco's new king Diego El Cigala, a famous Romani Flamenco singer.
In addition to different flamenco styles such as bulerias, taranta, solea, seguiriya and rumba, the repertoire also includes a composition based on the Turkish music tradition, which, according to Kerem, naturally has a connection with flamenco.
Rafita de Madrid who has shared the stage with world-renowned musicians like Diego El Cigala, Javier Limon and Concha Buika dazzled the audience with his songs and lyrics, combining the deep tradition of flamenco with his contemporary vision.
Sara Sanchez, with her simply splendid footwork, proved how flamenco conveys the non-verbal language of emotions with facial gestures, hand movements, the way she moved and her strong gaze, awakening and transmitting emotions. Adrian Jimenez Garcia also accompanied her at the end of the show as the audience gave a standing ovation for minutes.
It was a night full of music, art and flamenco.
