Giovanna
By Steve Peralta

Flamenco consists of some 30 to 40 styles (cantes, bailes or toques) made up of complex time signatures, repeating patterns and accentuations. One style, tango (unrelated to the South American dance form), is lilting and emotional and Uruguayan Giovanna covers the genre in her latest release, “Tango,” with a technical virtuosity and emotional authenticity that is breathtaking.

The release is made up of her own renditions of classic tango tracks by legends of the genre. Giovanna’s recordings of classic tango songs are not bland caricatures played by someone without an intimate knowledge of what they are reproducing. Her work is genuine and carries with it an academic, yet transcendental precision. The instrumentation on the release excels with two Flamenco virtuosos on guitar, Mario Núñez and Julio Cobelli.

Giovanna uses the full dynamic range of her voice on the release whether a song is being performed as “cante jondo,” deeply emotional tracks that deal mostly with misery and hardship as in her rendition of José Dames’s “Fuimos” or “cante festero,” upbeat numbers that are hopelessly romantic, as in her take on Alfredo Zitarrosa’s “Romance Para Un Negro Milonguero.” (The “milonguero,” or “close embrace” tango dance style is popular in certain clubs of Buenos Aires.)

Giovanna’s performances (some available through her MySpace page) are theatrical and exhibit a sheer rhythmic drive, complexity and raw excitement.

Giovanna was born and raised in the La Plata region between Uruguay and Argentica and, according to her indie label, Tonos Records, her music bridges the gap between the respective capitals of both countries – Montevideo, where tango music thrives, and Buenos Aires, where tango dance reigns.

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  • Photo: Magela Ferrero.
Steve PeraltaNeoAztlan editor and founder Steve Peralta is a native of Colorado and graduate of the University of Colorado at Denver. He has been creating content for Web, print and radio for nearly 15 years. Past projects include work with the former Sony Interactive, several Internet boom content providers, and Capitol Underground pirate radio, among others. Peralta can be reached at speralta@neoaztlan.com.

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