Tarantism was a nervous condition attributed to a tarantula bite. But today we know that this is not the case. "The supposed tarantula bite was cured with a spectacular trance, dancing with musicians who played for hours without a break so that those women would get well, so that they would actually come out of depression." This is the explanation given by Raül Refree of the origin of this southern Italian tradition, which now takes shape in a three-way show.
He plays the music; the singer Maria Mazzotta, from Apulia, provides the voice; and Jordi Oriol is in charge of the dramaturgy. The result is Evoé!, which will be presented on July 19 in the Paral·lel 62 room, inside the Grec, with the Pleiade Choir, made up of 13 singers "who give a lot of fun", says Oriol.
In Apulia, every August hundreds of people gather to musically celebrate this ancient exorcism. The two traditional dances are the pizzica and the taranta, but Jordi Oriol has taken a step forward, or backwards depending on how you look at it, and has linked this phenomenon of empowerment and women's liberation with Las bacchaes, the work of Euripides written in the 406 BC, which “explains the story of some cloistered women, who leave the city, on the mountain, and pay homage to Dionysus, and the king is against it because the women transgress the order of the city,” he refers to the playwright. The Cor Plèiade will represent these bacchantes in a symbolic way”.
In December, at the Clàssics Festival, Refree and Mazzotta presented a first proposal for this ritual of choreomania where collective catharsis takes place, and now Oriol's dramaturgy is added. Refree remarks: "Just because there's music doesn't mean it's a concert."
Jaleo is a crime, by Los Voluble, has already been seen at Paral·lel 62, and on July 20, Luísa Sobral will arrive, who canceled last year's concert and will perform with Lucia Fumero and Rita Payés. The two of them could already be heard at La Mercè.
Under the umbrella of the Grec, the Desvarío flamenco festival is also held in Nou Barris. Its artistic director, Pedro Barragán, declares: “As a festival it has only been around for three years, but its anchorage dates back to the year 2000 with Flamenco in Nou Barris. It is a sample of today's flamenco, because as art it moves, it evolves”. From July 17 to 22, Desvario hosts activities and culminates with three days of concerts, with renowned figures such as Rosario la Tremendita, Rafael Riqueni, Anna Colom and Ana Morales, among others.
Catalan version, here
