Just two weeks after the Spanish Ballet of Cuba, directed by maestro Eduardo Veitía, began its long tour through the People’s Republic of China, they have already performed in four cities in three distant provinces.

The compass now points to Canton, that point on the geography which is so close to Cubans, because from there arrived to the Island the majority of the more than 120,000 Chinese emigrants in the mid-19th century.

They also gifted colours to our nationality, and in this work that brings the Spanish Ballet of Cuba closer to the public of the People’s Republic of China: Carmen. Cuba, they are also remembered, for in it overflow all the elements that come together in our nationality…

Just two weeks after the Spanish Ballet of Cuba, directed by maestro Eduardo Veitía, began its long tour through the People’s Republic of China, they have already performed in four cities in three distant provinces, from the north and south of the Asian giant: Changchun (Jilin), Mudanjiang (Heilongjiang) and Fuzhou and Fuding (Fujian). Which translated into kilometres are long distances covered in aeroplanes, trains and coaches… Although the ovations and the warm welcome in each theatre surpass them. Something that is not by chance.

It is the third visit, since 2019, of the Cuban company, which has left unforgettable marks with its performances in more than 30 cities in 20 provinces, in works such as The Phantom and I am Cuba, and the Chinese public already knows them, and pursues them.

After each performance, there are many who come to greet, to take photos and proudly show the images taken on previous visits. The enormous Grand Theatre of Fuzhou (Fujian), proved too small to accommodate the public that flooded it in all its corners, in a night to remember.

And it is that Carmen.Cuba, the new production by Veitía, has all the elements to captivate the spectator with its magic. A purely Cuban Carmen.

There are many factors that add up. The choreography of Eduardo Veitía, based on the work of Prosper Mérimée, and with music by George Bizet, is – in the first place – elegant, and original, for it has «dressed» its Carmen with a breath of rhythm, colour, energy and musicality tinged with pure Cuban essence, that overflows borders.

It is as if the sorcery of the Caribbean moves in the work, something that personalises and nationalises it. Its movements carry the hurricane force of this region that breathes from the world, with its African, European and Asian strokes. Flamenco vibrates, but something vital is also recognised, the gestures, attitudes…, they carry an ancestral mixture that enriches it.

Visually, together with the lighting designs by Veitía himself, which contribute to the magic of the spectacle, the scenographic images created by Tamine González with video mapping are of extreme taste; they stroll through the work like one more character that ennobles it, they translate moments, and take the spectator to a dreamlike space by drawing emotions. In one sentence: they walk in the same dimension as the choreographer. They put each scene in its exact place, leaving space to show the visual richness of Cuban landscapes.

And the costume designs by that great artist Oscar de la Portilla, give the final touch of authenticity to the work and the good taste that surrounds it. Because they carry the light of these lands bathed in sun, which offer it a singular charm. It is the skin on the bodies of the dancers, expressing an identity, when they vibrate and burst with all their strength while swaying to the rhythm, illuminated by a also special music, that unleashes passions.

In this sonic section, it must be noted that, although the musical base is that of Bizet, Veitía has incorporated flamenco music, Spanish music, other versions based on the original, and Cuban notes like a flamenco version by the cantaora Chelo Pantoja of the bolero Dos Gardenias, by Isolina Carrillo, and a percussion that transcends cultural borders, for the beats of the cajón mark rhythms, at times brought from that enchanted region, which then in the dance transform into the way Cubans dance, for the dancers are Cuban. It is a manner, a singular mark that brings closer the force of the Caribbean with its rich cultural rainbow arrived from many places in the world. And that in the epilogue of the work overflows, and manages to sink deep into the Chinese public.

After an hour and a half of spectacle, Carmen. Cuba reserves emotions for the end. When it seems that everything is already ending with the greetings, the auditorium is reborn like Carmen. It remains alive, as a synonym, symbol of liberty, eternal passion… And the music unleashes movements that sculpt a kind of flamenco, that transforms into ecstasy. The rhythm goes, in crescendo, the bodies move, and the ancestors resonate in the scene. It is Africa, Spain, the Caribbean…, there are many nuances. It is the heritage that time and life left in these lands. Carmen is universal. The public accompanies it with rhythmic clapping that overflows into ovations, in every place. There is no room for doubt. It is Cuba. (Author: Toni Piñera)