NARANJA Y LIMON Will Be Performed By Teatro Paraguas Online This Month

Companía Chuscales y Mina Fajardo, Santa Fe's premiere flamenco dance troupe, joins with Teatro Paraguas to present a video performance of Naranja y limón, a tribute in dance, poetry, and music to the great Spanish poet Miguel Hernandez (1910-1942).

Naranja y limón is the creation of Mina Fajardo, a singer-songwriter, master dancer, choreographer, teacher and director originally from Japan. Chuscales, a composer and virtuoso guitarist and a native of Antequera, Spain, grew up in a traditional gypsy family well known for its professional musicians and dancers. His grandmother was among those who lived in the caves of Sacromonte, one of the legendary cradles of flamenco. Together, Mina and Chuscales have performed for decades internationally, and have inspired and taught hundreds of flamenco students.

Joining Mina and Chuscales are dancers Sveta Backhaus, Monze Diaz, Micah Birdshire, and Daniel Mouw. Oscar Gamboa accompanies on the cajon, and Argos MacCallum reads selections of the poetry of Miguel Hernandez. The video was recorded on May 9 and 15, 2021 at Teatro Paraguas.

Miguel Hernández Gilabert, born in Orihuela, Spain, in 1910, was a poet and playwright associated with the Generation of '27 literary movement. He grew up in a family of goat-herders and received only a rudimentary eduction. His father physically abused him for spending time with books instead of working. His interest in literature and poetry was guided by Ramón Sijé, a Catholic intellectual who lent him books and encouraged him to move to Madrid, where he was befriended by Federico Garcia Lorca, Pablo Neruda, and other prominent poets.

Hernández fought in the Spanish Civil War and died of tuberculosis in 1942 as a prisoner of war in Franco's prisons. His last book, Cancionero y romancero de ausencias, was published after his death, and is a collection of the poems he wrote in prison, some written on pieces of toilet paper and others preserved in letters to his wife. The book is considered one of the finest pieces of Spanish poetry of the 20th century.

Compania Chuscales has performed many times at Teatro Paraguas, presenting three flamenco concerts each year since 2013.

Naranja y limón is available on XERB.tv, along with Una Nota de Lorca, a flamenco tribute to Federico Garcia Lorca, recorded by Compania Chuscales in November 2020. There is a $5 viewing fee for both videos. More information is available at teatroparaguasnm.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.