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estebanana -> RE: which palo is the most carthatic? (Apr. 23 2017 13:11:01)
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There's not one that is redemptive, or transformative, it's more about how a particular performer works it for you.
The main four important palos are Solea, Siguiryas, Bulerias and Alegrias, but sometimes in a certain context one of the lighter palos might be something- They all have the potential to show emotions, but art does not really work that way, artists can't really set out to express this or that, you can say Solea is the most profound etc, but then if you turn Guajiras inside out it's like siguiryas.
You can shade alegrias with a minor or e minor chords before the letra and then go back into a bright feeling major key ...there's all kinds of feints and trick performers do to change one palo to feel like something else and then change back again.
An alegrias has a darkness implied, or a problem, and a solea can have a redemptive happiness that is transformed out of a telling of trouble. And often times they mean nothing because the performer is just phoning it in.
You find your own emotional spigot to turn on and off. For me its not palos or guitars it's the great voices like Fernanda's or Chocolate or older Macaninta...they could sing a toilet paper commercial jingle and it would reek of transformative power.
Compas is also very much part of the redemption. Voice and compas. Sometimes when a dancer stands still for a second and really transmits it, that is the best part of the night. Sometimes just a thumb through one chord is really cool, more cool than 3000 mile per hour closes for dancers breaks. The artist knows where to put that one stillness or chord because they feel it. I think my favorite is when a dancer known for amazing breaks builds it up and right before taking it, throws it away and steps away from the scene. They are breaking the illusion and including you in the act. It's like saying yeah you knew where that was going, so let's just both forget it. What emotion is that?
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