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KUMPANIA PRESS KIT
Kumpania Poster
A formula for a good movie poster is an image you can see from across the street as well as from close- up.
Graphic Designer Marco Carreno had a puzzle to solve with so many artists in Kumpania and how to represent them.
Carreno suggested one iconic image.
Flamenco photographer Bruce Bisenz agreed: “Just don’t make it look like a hood ornament on a Buick,” he warned.
We ended up thinking about the future of flamenco in Los Angeles, symbolized by one of its youngest dancers, Paloma Rios. Carreno designed a photo strip viewed in close-up that would show some of the leading performers in the documentary.
Paloma drives often from Santa Barbara to work in L.A., and was part of the group we were filming. Her admiration for the other flamencos is indicative of her generosity as a performer and as a person.
We went to the Speed shop on Melrose Avenue where Cosmo the stylist threw all kinds of items at her, and she snagged a fedora that reminded me of the one worn in this picture of La Planeta, the first cantaor to be recorded more than 200 years ago.
Drawing of La Planeta by D. F. Lamayer
True it is in violation of Narezo’s ”Anti-Polka Dot Manifesto,” but every person finds flamenco in his or her own way and this is also true. Narezo explains his manifesto at greater length in the documentary.
Weeks after the photo shoot, cantaor Antonio De Jerez happened to post his latest letra – or verse – on his FaceBook page:
Por alli viene la luna,viene bestida de blanco,
en una bata de cola, que por el aire va arrastrando.Con ese talle tan flamenco,la luna ya esta bailando, y los oles y los quejios, el compas le van llevando!…Here comes the moon dressed in a white
bata de cola and the air is dragging the bata de cola.
With this image so flamenco the moon is dancing…
Carreno took the letra and “danced” the words around the photograph of Paloma wearing the white “bata de cola” or “rooster-tailed” skirt with long train.
“Flamenco is not just dance,” says Deborah Lawler, who has produced flamenco shows for years at The Fountain Theatre. “The heart of it is the song.”
Antonio De Jerez’ favorite dog, Carmela, sits bottom left.
Graphic Designer Marco Carreno
Photographer Avi Cohen
Makeup Karen McDonald
Stylist Jessica Carreno
Photo Strip Photos by Bruce Bisenz, Avi Cohen and Alexandra Rozo