8.6.07
Siguiriyas. La Tati. Hackney Empire. 16/10/06
No history of flamenco is complete without a comprehensive account of the life and work of this incomparable flamenco diva.
More than just a dancer, Tati is the purest synthesis of flamenco blood, soil and spirit. A major voice and an unquestioned prima flamenca who has inspired a generation, whose art has always been fed by her vast and legendary life.
To compare her with blues giant Bessie Smith is not fanciful. Her life has also been eventful, and she has had to fight hard to assert herself in a hostile culture.
Her reputation within flamenco has grown accordingly. Her appearance at Hackney Empire, with the ghost of Marie Lloyd (2) looking down, reminds us of another great woman of the stage with whom she bears comparison.
Her decision to appear in British regional theatres allows a much wider audience to experience her power at close hand. To hear her say 'This is Thus' as only she can, with her dance - if what she does can be confined within that term. After all, this is flamenco. When she first read Brecht's 'Mother Courage' (3) she said "This Mother has to dance!". She could have been talking about herself, or every mother. And is in the spirit of universality which is flamenco.
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