The dancer Mercedes of Cordoba continues to reap success and awards. Public and critical acclaim, as well as institutional recognition, such as the Lorca Award for Best Show Flamenco which he received on April 9 in the Central Theater from Seville at the gala organized by the Academy of Performing Arts of Andalusia. It is awarded to him for his work Forgotten (To the Sinsombrero), which premiered at the Seville Biennial 2024 and recently in the Jerez Festival, where it improved even further if possible.
The dean of criticism Manuel Martin Martin highlighted in this magazine the role of Mercedes de Córdoba in defense of women pointing out the artist's commitment and congratulating her for it, as well as adding that Forgotten "It's not a work in rehearsal format, although it shows a process of dance creation where the representation of women, driven by the effort to break down the walls that surround them and eliminate all the barriers that impede their empowerment, is greater than ever (...). There are elements in the staging that do not hinder the active participation of women. And therein lies the merit of the proposal, in overcoming potential impediments, always for the sake of real and effective equality between men and women, of freedom, but also of the prevention and elimination of all types of discrimination."
The critic of flamenco Kiko Valle, a collaborator of this house, said this in his review from the Biennial: "The dancer turns Forgotten (To the Sinsombrero) in a tremendous, moving and brilliant story that deals with an act of rebellion by the intellectual women of 27. Those who dared to take off their hats in public, transgressing the norm, breaking conventions, uncovering their concerns and clearing their ideas. Forgotten It is a cry for freedom contained in a gesture. A symbol of a cultural movement parallel to that experienced by the men of his time.
"Mercedes has a compelling need to 'rescue from suffocating oblivion' those artists of '27, taking them out of the unjust darkness of repression and silence caused by the reigning patriarchy. She blends into their pain, internalizing it and, as an allegory, creating a fascinating spectacle in which she shouts to the world her story of freedom—and now Mercedes's as well—thwarted and wounded."
And he added in the of Jerez Festival: «Raging because of her previous ignorance of the facts and because of the disgrace that this brought to culture and to women, Mercedes feels an urgent need to 'rescue from suffocating oblivion' these artists of '27, taking them out of the unjust darkness of repression and silence caused by the reigning patriarchy. She blends in with their pain, internalizing it and, as an allegory, creating a fascinating spectacle in which she shouts to the world her story of freedom – and now Mercedes's as well – thwarted and wounded.»
In the work he is accompanied by a cast of category, formed by a dance troupe in which participate Alejandra I believe, Marta Cañizares y Polina Sofia, in addition to his romantic partner John Campallo, who brings excellence to music with his guitar, cante de Jesus Corbacho y Jonathan Reyes, the double bass of Gal Master and the percussion of Paco Vega. Sometimes with the beat of The Oruco, others with Robert Jaen.
Forgotten It is a show conceived by Mercedes and has the co-production and executive direction of Juan Alfonso Romero. The texts and audios are from Concha Mendez, Maria Zambrano y Marga Gil.
