© Richard HuangA glance through any souvenir-shop window is enough to tell you that flamenco and bullfighting are regarded as Spain’s two great national traditions. Hemingway once said, “Life is much like a bullfight: either you defeat the bull, or the bull gores you to death.” Perhaps it is this cruelty that has drawn bullfighting into the dispute between preserving tradition and protecting animals. These days, it is difficult to find a bullfight outside major festivals. Flamenco, by contrast, is flourishing, with performances everywhere from cafés and tapas bars to grand theatres.
© InternetFlamenco is a composite Spanish art form that brings together dance, song, and instrumental music. It originated among the Roma communities of southern Spain, retaining their free and spontaneous spirit while blending it with European elegance and splendour and the exuberant passion of the Americas. The result is an art form distinctly associated with Spanish culture.
© InternetThere are many places to see flamenco in Spain, with shows staged in cafés, small bars, and intimate theatres. We chose Gran Gala Flamenco at the Palau de la Música Catalana. The Palau is the world’s only modernist concert hall designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this production has been running for eighteen years.
© Richard HuangWe arrived early at the Palau, planning to look around and have dinner nearby. This sculptural ensemble adorns one corner of the building and offers a glimpse of the extraordinary detail found throughout.
© Richard HuangThe Palau is said to be the only concert hall that can be illuminated entirely by natural light. Seen from outside, its balconies allow sunlight into the auditorium and are adorned with busts of celebrated musicians.
© Richard HuangLike us, many visitors had gathered around the concert hall to see the famous building. I noticed a man with remarkably bright, alert eyes and, assuming he was another tourist, took a few photographs of him. As we chatted, I discovered that he was actually Federico Frangi, an Argentine photographer living in Barcelona.
© Richard HuangHe had set up a pavement stall opposite the Palau: a bicycle, a wooden crate, and his photographs pasted onto the wall—that was all he needed to start selling his work.
© Richard HuangHe likes shooting on film and travelling in India. After scanning his negatives, he prints the photographs with an inkjet printer on Nepalese paper, which resembles Chinese xuan paper. The results looked quite good in person. This little girl must be the subject of one of his favourite images. He said her eyes could speak.
I later looked up his website and found that I liked his work. He has been interviewed by several media outlets and has held a number of exhibitions. The video below tells the story of his photographic travels through India by motorcycle. Its title is “In Her Eyes,” and the “her” is this very girl. His unfettered, easygoing way of life—roaming wherever he pleases—is truly enviable. He overturned my stereotype of what a photographer should be.
© Richard HuangBy the time we finished dinner, the city lights were beginning to come on, and it was time to go inside. The Palau sells separate tickets for tours of the building. Online sources claim that holders of performance tickets can enter an hour early to look around; in reality, admission begins only half an hour before the show.
© Richard HuangWith people steadily filing in, it was difficult to capture a good panoramic view. I have borrowed an official promotional photograph here.
© Richard HuangRed and white ceramic roses cover the upper reaches of the auditorium. Most dreamlike of all is the great skylight, whose colours shade from blue to gold.
© Richard HuangThe surrounding columns resemble a circle of open umbrellas.
© Richard HuangAgainst the stage’s red backdrop, mosaic tiles frame reliefs of muses playing a variety of instruments.
© Richard HuangFlamenco began in small bars, where dancers performed with abandon as the audience clapped along and, when sufficiently excited, cried “Olé!” Although we were seeing it in a grand theatre this time, we deliberately chose seats near the front to preserve something of that intimate, close-up experience. Photography was prohibited once the performance began. That was no bad thing: I could put the camera aside and concentrate on the show. I hurriedly took the following photographs during the curtain call.
© Richard HuangThe entire performance was put on by only eight or nine people: two singers, three dancers, and three instrumentalists. At times the singers danced, and at times the musicians sang. The combinations kept changing, so there was never a dull moment. The show opened with a man and a woman raising their voices in song—something like throat singing, yet also a little like rap. I could not understand the words, but their voices and passion had already drawn the audience into the drama. Then came a succession of fiery dances incorporating tap-like footwork. Heels cracked against the floor amid clapping hands and slapping thighs—a feast for both eyes and ears. I had still been struggling with jet lag, but by then I was wide awake. Next time I need to get over jet lag, a flamenco show might be just the thing.
© Richard HuangAn hour and a half of exuberant song and dance passed in no time. I had seen several documentaries about flamenco, but the experience was entirely different in person and overturned my preconceptions. Shaped by what I had seen on screen, I had always associated flamenco first and foremost with female dancers—their swirling skirts and graceful movements—as though the men were merely there in support. Live onstage, however, the men and women engaged with each other as equals, and the male dancers had every bit as substantial a role. Their distinctly masculine presence—dashing and resolute like a bullfighter, brimming with defiance and strength, with just a trace of arrogance—emerged fully in their poised, expectant stances and crisp, resounding footwork. Strength and grace, masculine and feminine: the two made a perfect match.
To experience flamenco amid the splendour of the Palau de la Música Catalana made the evening all the more unforgettable—and left me wanting more.