Delving into Duende

Ibérica's seventh annual festival of Spanish culture begins this week with photo exhibits, film showings and concerts. While the majority of events are planned for the Moravian city of Boskovice, concert nights scheduled for Prague and Brno will present the musical highlights of the festival. 

Flamenco will be central to Ibérica's program again this year. Standout performances are sure to include dancer Lucía Guarnido and her electrifying Andalusian trio at Prague's Archa Theater Thursday, and the trio of Guarnido, pianist Ana Benavides and dance company Companía Virginia Delgado Saturday in Boskovice.

Originating from Granada, Guarnido has come full circle from classical and flamenco dance training to an elegant approach she describes as "flamenco charged with emotion, toward the full embodiment of character and sensitivity ... a flamenco journey that does not divert attention from the reality that flamenco is the central character and story of the show." Accompanying her on this tour is a trio of musicians, who interact with Guarnido on a level that has been described by the Spanish newspaper Granada Hoy as "clairvoyant." Guarnido and company have the potential to be the best flamenco performance in Prague this year.

Guarnido and her trio will join classical pianist Ana Benavides to perform separate sets at Ibérica's gala closing concert in Boskovice Saturday. Benavides, who combines flamenco with classical and historical Spanish chamber music, should provide a complimentary contrast to Guarnido's more traditional style. Benavides will be joined by Alfredo Mesa on guitar and Companía Virginia Delgado in a program titled "Flamenco Meets Classical."

Flamenco has swept the globe in the past 30 years via the popularity of musicians like Paco De Lucía, Paco Pena and filmmaker Carlos Saura's Carmen. Part of the form's popularity is its capacity to mix raw and honest emotion with disciplined dance and musical expression. Other styles of world music, including Central European folk music, may have much to learn from Flamenco's vitality, according to Festival Ibérica director Petr Vít, who is also a guitarist and composer.

Central European folk musicians "should not be afraid to evolve and to be open to other influences, but of course we should not forget our roots," Vít said.

On the surface, Czech music may seem far removed from Flamenco, but Slovakia, Hungary, Moravia and Bohemia join Spain on the musical map that has been shaped by Roma culture.

Explaining Roma music's impact on Spain and the Czech Republic, Vit highlights "the gift of improvisation and musical invention, the specific talent of interpretation and the ease with which [the Roma] adapt to and assimilate other cultures. But especially the musical performance with heart, soul and 'duende.' " 

The mysterious term "duende" was best described by the late Spanish poet Federico García Lorca in an essay on Bizet's Carmen, which he said "leapt from the Greek mysteries to the dancers of Cadiz and the headless Dionysiac scream of Silverio's siguiriya." 

Festival Ibérica 2010 offers a window into one of Europe's richest musical traditions, bringing to light lost moments of Spanish classical music through Benevides' fresh interpretations, and making direct challenges to the beautiful pathos of Southern Spain with Guarnido and her trio. But Vít is quick to remind us that castanets and flamenco are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Spain's musical wealth. In the future, Vít hopes Festival Ibérica will further explore other branches of Spanish music, from the Celtic mountains of Galacia to the North African coastal archipelago of the Canary Islands.

For a full list of Ibérica events, readers are encouraged to see the festival's website at Iberica.cz.

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at
features@praguepost.com