Los Canasteros
Flamenco Extraordinaire!!
"I heard about the regular flamenco nights Los Canasteros hosted at the Kino Cafe on Cambie Street, but between one thing and another I never made it there until a couple of months ago. I left amazed by what I had seen and heard. With guitars strumming, hands clapping and feet on the beat, it was impossible not to feel swept up by the rhythm. I was again reminded that people knew how to kick butt long before there were drum kits and amplifiers in the world.
"Canasteros" was the name the Spanish gave to the Rom people who travelled through southern Spain. The traditions date back 500 years and when Mario Ines-Torres starts to sing, there is an intensity and a raw passion in his voice that echoes the pain, the hopes and the stories of an ancient, often persecuted people. "When I sing, my voice is just a vehicle for the voices of my ancestors. I did not choose to sing, they chose me." I believe him. When he sings, he sounds much older than his 43 years. He brings his own innovations to the work, but for a couple of hours it is easy to feel as though one has been transported to a late night in a small bar somewhere in Spain.
Click on the logo and listen to them live from the St. Sarah's Day Festival May 24, 1998 south of Vancouver, BC! Don't have RealAudio? - click on the logo at the bottom of the page and get it now!
When Karen Boothroyd and Robert Benaroya rise to dance, the rhythms become visual and the effect is hypnotic. There are stories in their movements and a sensuality that in part explains why flamenco is currently reaching a whole new audience. Karen was born and raised in a trailer behind a movie theatre her parents ran in Gibson's, B.C. Her father raised her with a strong awareness of her Romanichel (English Rom) roots. She's been dancing since she was four and studying flamenco for more than ten years.
Guitarist Peter Mole studied classical guitar at McGill University in Montreal before finding himself hooked on the unique rhythms and harmonies of flamenco over a decade ago. These artists form a group in the best sense of the word -- watching and encouraging each other's every moment on stage and carrying forward a tradition in a way that honours the lives of those who passed the tradition on to them." (1)
(1) lifted from the Vancouver Folk Festival page.
Newsflash! Hot
CD - Seven Worlds JUST RELEASED!!
Contact Contact los-cana@portal.ca or celtrom@uniserve.com anytime!!
Or send your name and address and a check or money order for xx.xx to:
Box 38045 King Edward Mall P.O.
Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4L9
Canada
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This and associated pages were created by and copyright© Peter. Last updated 7/98
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