PART 2 - Morelli 2005...Day One…The Fix is IN.

It’s another sunny warm day in Laguna and the cast of Lagunatics 007 is busy hoofing away, rehearsing for their upcoming post Labor Day performances. (www.nosquare.org). Working on this show has been a psychological tonic for me, principally because, for the first time in seventeen years I am participating in a project which includes not one bad vibe. The thought of any cultural activity in Mexico void of snaky behavior on the part of someone, is about as probable as the yellow brick road being straight. The Morelli Competition of 2005 was like a snake filled pit…and at its venomous head was Mexican demi-god Enrique Patron. It takes a pair of very large "huevos," as they say in Mexico…to be so brazenly public about corruptive behavior! It takes an enormous quantity of arrogance to think you can get away with it… And yet…asi es la vida…thus is life… in DF… In the world of the government supported Bellas Artes Beaurocracy.

As the sun baked in Culiacan in August of 2005, I remained cool in my tiny little inner sanctum of a bedroom-office. I left the womb only for Man of La Mancha rehearsals at the Arts Center for a few hours each day. I had been tossing around the idea of going to the Morelli Competition in late August, specifically to accompany my friend Chu. I felt bad for the guy. Such a talent. I wanted to support him, although I knew full well that his chances in a Patron-year Morelli were miniscule at best. You see, although Chu comes from Sinaloa, Patron has always treated him like the neighborhood buffoon. He has offered him little crumbs, now and then…but basically he keeps Chu in his place… which is unknown, except for the local crowd in Culiacan. He delights in publicly calling this great tenor…a baritone…suggesting that he doesn’t have high notes, and should give up…Nice, eh. Poor Chu.

Being that I HATE being in Mexico City, I would not commit to going on the trip, until I was sure that we had funding for it. Chu didn't have a penny, and would need significant help to travel and stay in Mexico City for a couple of weeks. He was able to get some private money from the "King of Tomatoes," a Culiacan millionaire who helped him out on occasion.

DIFOCUR agreed to pay my airfare for the trip, but I would have to pay for the hotel and all of Joel’s expenses. This was a bit of an economic bite for me, so I pulled some strings and got a contribution from Agustin Koppel a multimillionaire from Culiacan, who owns a chain of department stores throughout Mexico. He doesn’t like to give his money away, however, which is certainly his right, and Chu and I had to agree to give two concerts for free at a date to be named later in Culiacan. That was OK by me…. I made reservations in a small boutique hotel in the Zona Rosa, a Greenwhich Village like zone, which is one of the few remaining safe neighborhoods in the Federal District. It seemed like a mini vacation. Joel and I would leave a couple of days early so that I could accustom myself to the impossibly high altitude, and revolting pollution levels that are a routine experience in Mexico City. We arrived on Sunday evening, and endured the ride in a smelly taxi from the airport… some 45 ugly minutes from the center on a weekend evening. DF, (the distrito federal) as its known to the locals, is a turbulent place that tends to make me remember why I left NY….except that it’s far far worse. The traffic, for example is horrific. The smells. The poverty. The bad architecture from the 50s and 60s that permeate the central district. The grayness of it all. Uch.

I had called my friend , the lovely soprano Karla Muñoz, a pretty young lady with a silvery voice and perky personality, whom I knew had plans to compete, a few days earlier from Culiacan. She had sung with our company on occasion, and lived in Mexico City. I offered to play for her in the competition. Karla was scheduled to sing on the second day of the first round. That gave us the wonderful opportunity to enjoy the first day relatively calmly.

We met at Bellas Artes on Monday morning. I smiled as I watched familiar faces file into the small auditorium: elegant Gilda Morelli, accompanied by a matronly friend, who had made the announcements in the competition for years; the so called judges, a bunch of Patron flunkies from the Bellas Artes bureaucracy; a large group of nervous contestants from all over the country; several accompanists ; and lastly Patron himself, who saw me, gave me a hug, and asked me who I would be playing for. I mentioned Karla and Chu. The little smirk that followed my declaration indicated to me that a rough road to glory lay ahead.

The air in the room was a bit fetid. There is no air conditioning at Bellas Artes. The typical announcements were made by the matron. "There was to be no applause." Etc. Etc. Etc. The competition began. A pattern was quickly established by Patron. After a page or two… he would say… "stop … do you have something else?" I found this peculiar. The rules of the Morelli are supposedly rather strict. You fill out the form. You say which two arias (songs from operas) you are prepared to sing. You also choose an "art song"…(not from an opera) ….and you are told that…under no circumstances may you deviate from your intentions. The requirement to have an art song prepared is ludicrous. The song is never asked for…so it’s just a silly exercise to include it on the form.

After the first few contestants had shown their wares..the Maestro gave immediate indications that the rules meant nothing in this competition. The singer sings….gets interrupted… is asked for something else…something with a "higher note"… something "not Mozart" …something…well…that he, the ever so bored Maestro.. might appreciate. I mention Mozart.. Because a very dear friend of mine, the great tenor and voice teacher David Ramirez, once told me "not to trust musicians who can’t interpret Mozart." In Patron’s case.. Well… let’s be kind and say that his Mozart performances display a COMPLETE lack of understanding. I guess he qualifies as someone not be trusted.

With poor Mozart rolling in his unmarked grave, the competition continued, as one after one, the singers were brusquely dismissed. A few were actually allowed to terminate their performances. Every Mozart aria, especially those sung by baritones was interrupted. Every single one.

A young mezzo from Mazatlan took the stage…. an Antonio Gonzalez product.. well known to the great Enrique.. She looked good.

Patron made it a habit to ask the contestants whom their vocal teachers were. The question usually followed the aria, somewhere in between the interruption and the dismissal. Not surprisingly, the morning flew by, and 35 contestants were done after a couple of hours. I thought of earlier non-Patron years where people had been given a fair chance. The length of those first round days approached 8 hours or longer. Let’s give a big round of applause to the fairness displayed by the Maestro in eliminating half the competition in just two hours. Oh…and by the way… no judge is supposed to adjudicate on any singer with whom they have worked. Of course.. Demi god gets around this… He’s worked with almost everyone…that is…everyone who will be in the semi finals and finals… so that doesn’t count.

The performances ended. The judges retired. A sweaty half hour passed. The door to the chambers opened. The judges hastily left. Patron practically ran out of the door. The Matron arrived, and announced the singers who would pass on to the semi finals. Seven were chosen. None of the Mozart singers, of course. The sexy slinker from Mazatlan passed. The others semi-finalists had sung well if not brilliantly. Most of the better singers were eliminated. Not surprising. Especially if they were outsiders. Especially if they studied with teachers not approved by the great one.

The fix was in. Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day. I wondered what was going through Karla’s mind.

More in the next post.

POSTING 2 "A scream for help"

POSTING 3 "The Highway to Corruption and Tears, Starts in Mexico City"

POSTING 4 Monday, July 30th, 2007 "Sinaloa=SINaloa"

POSTING 5 Wednesday, August 7th, 2007 "Speaking of corruption? Try the National Singing Contest. PART 1 - Once it really WAS fair…sometimes. ( in Non-Patron Years)"

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