On 31 October, the Pérez Galdós Theatre in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will host the world premiere of ‚Lorca por Dámaso‘, a staged concert offering a musical and visual journey through the world of Federico García Lorca as seen through the eyes of the Gran Canarian artist Pepe Dámaso.
Artistic and musical director Isabel Costes presented the show alongside institutional representatives and officials from the Auditorium and Theatre Foundation, at an event during which she emphasised that the production does not aim to recount Lorca’s life, but rather to celebrate the poet through various artistic disciplines.
The production, which premieres on the 90th anniversary of the death of the poet from Granada, will bring together the Orquesta Sinfónica del Atlántico (ODA), narration by the actor José Luis de Madariaga, contemporary and flamenco dance by Vanesa Aibar, and a set designed by Pepe Dámaso, who was unable to attend the presentation as he was unwell.
Las Palmas: Lorca's travels shape the music of the production
Costes explained that the show centres on Lorca’s journey to New York and Cuba following the publication of *Romancero gitano*, a period that marked the creation of *Poeta en Nueva York*.
The show’s repertoire will feature four musical works, two of which will be premiered: ‚Entre suelas y asfalto‘, by the Gran Canarian composer Juan Manuel Marrero, and ‚Suite Lorca‘, composed by Ernesto Mateo and inspired by the Spanish folk songs compiled and arranged by the Andalusian poet.
The programme is rounded off with the third movement of Claude Debussy’s ‚La Mer‘ and music by the Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.
Narrative, stage design and flamenco bring Lorca's imaginative world to life
Throughout this journey, the spoken word, narrated by José Luis de Madariaga, will be introduced to link the texts and Lorca’s imagery, the music and the transformations of the stage space, through a poem from the *Romancero gitano* and the lecture that Lorca himself gave on ‚Poet in New York‘.
The production will also feature a large sculptural structure, designed specifically for the show by Pepe Dámaso and built by Maroto and Vergara, onto which images and ‚video mapping‘ relating to the work the Canarian artist has produced on Lorca throughout his career will be projected.
Isabel Costes also stated that the flamenco dancer Vanessa Aibar will «step into the shoes of a mad spirit who dances through the ages».
Cultural figures see this as a catalyst for the bid to become a Capital of Culture
The director of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Auditorium and Theatre Foundation, Zoilo Alemán, has emphasised that the collaboration between two artists such as Lorca and Dámaso strengthens the city’s cultural profile and its bid to become European Capital of Culture, and has stated that «it is a meeting of dual strength, ambitious sensibility and extraordinary beauty».
The Councillor for Culture in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Josué Iñíguez, has stated that these are two artists of whom «one might say, at first glance, that they do not have much in common, but who are the sort of people touched by the gods, capable of venturing into the world of ideas, grasping it, touching it, feeling it, experiencing it, savouring it and bringing it down to earth in the material world».
Guacimara Medina, the Councillor for Culture at the Gran Canaria Island Council, has emphasised that the show «goes beyond the conventional concert» as it is «capable of bringing together on stage different artists with different artistic languages and a wealth of nuances», whilst highlighting the various artistic disciplines and «the central role of Lorca’s genius and Dámaso’s visual universe».
Medina has pointed out that this is another way of celebrating Lorca, who, «despite the fact that some tried to kill him, is still alive, still present, still relevant in our minds and continues to challenge us».
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