Paco Pena - 23/6/10

This was not a Paco Pena recital although he was fronting the publicity. It was a Flamenco event with the usual mix of dancing, singing and playing but also had a themed storyline which was I think contrasting the 'pure' Spanish Flamenco with the South American music that was a fusion of indigenous music and spanish music. The dancing was great particularly the male lead dancer. The singing was excellent both the flamenco voice and the South American singer who had an effortless richness and there was a frisson every time he started singing. The south american band featured four stringed bandolas and cuatros and a 10-stringed instrument and the musicians were very good. Paco Pena played a piece at the beginning on a loosely strung guitar that was rich and superb. He played a longer piece together with one of the South American musicians in the second half. These along with the South American singer's songs were the main musical highlights but as I said the evening was about more than the music