Harris Theater Hosts Authentic Flamenco
Las Minas Puerto Flamenco is a prestigious show that takes traditional Spanish dance and music across the world to make people´s souls vibrate with the power and emotion of these awarded artists. Eleven flamenco artists perform at the Harris Theater in Chicago, bringing the Spanish passion to life in a one-time only show, as this is their only stop in the USA on this 5-continent world tour. This ensemble is comprised of the winners of the famous Cante de las Minas annual festival held in the mining town of La Union in Murcia, Spain.
The show starts at the Harris Theatre with powerful male voices silencing us with their song, but surprisingly, there is nobody on the stage. Two male singers, Bernardo Miranda and Manu Soto, appear from the upper levels of the theatre, coming down the aisles singing acapella, engaged in a musical dialogue that takes us right into a 100-minute non-stop show of music and dance.
One by one, dancers Yolanda Osuna, Juan de Juan and Eduardo Guerrero come on stage and dance as if their shoes were on fire. It is difficult not to start clapping our hands with them or tap our feet trying to keep up with the rhythm of their amazing footwork. At moments, when they catch their breath, the public responds with applause and the typically Spanish “Ole”.
This writer believes that Eduardo Guerrero´s performance is absolutely outstanding. He is not very tall, and certainly not a big man, but on stage his energy makes him grow, expand, fill the theatre with his interpretation and have us hold our breath when his feet move so quickly he seems to be floating.
And then Oscar de Manuel comes on stage playing the Flamenco flute, moving with the music and giving us a magnificent show of his talent. The sound of the flute is playful and blends in beautifully with the sorrow of the Spanish guitars played by Jose Tomas Jimenez and Javier Ibañez and the deep sounds of the percussion instruments mastered by Lolo Planton.
Throughout the show, Gema Caballero is in charge of waking up emotions with her repertoire of flamenco songs. She is a very talented flamenco singer, but I believe that it is her interpretation of these songs that makes her performance stand out.
These exceptional artist’s performance in Chicago brings to the US some of the most enticing Spanish flavors. The public falls under the dancers spell and reward the artists with a huge round of applause. As we walk out of the theatre people comment on how the show awakes the desire to attend more such shows and even go to Spain and experience first-hand the magic of flamenco music and dance.
Harris Theater has ongoing programming of similar world class dance, music and other performances. For their calendar visit the Harris Theater website.
Photos: Casey Mitchell
About the Author:
Laura Buciuman is currently a Marketing Assistant at the Tourist Office of Spain in Chicago. Open-minded and curious, with a major in journalism and philosophy (North University, Romania) and two Master Degrees, one in English and Spanish for specific and business purposes (Alicante University, Spain) and another in International Tourism (EOI Business School, Spain), Laura is passionate about writing, storytelling, traveling, arts and culture. She has already lived in four different countries and visited many others and enjoys discovering different cultures. Reading, gastronomy, latin dances and yoga are some of her hobbies.
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