BWW Reviews: Eugenia León Pays Tribute to the Greats at Kennedy Center with VOCES DE MUJERES, VOCES DEL PUEBLO

Famed Mexican singer Eugenia León made her Kennedy Center debut this weekend and put succinctly, at least musically, it proved to be a debut to remember.

Backed by a tight seven-piece band led by musical director Rosino Serrano García, León's powerful, textured voice filled the Eisenhower Theatre with great ease as she paid a wonderful tribute to songs once sung, originated, or made famous by great Ibero-American female singers from Chile's Violeta Parra and Argentina's Mercedes Sosa to Mexican artists like Lola Beltrán, Concha Méndez and more. Throw in a wonderful rendition of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good," and much like the Iberian Suite itself - the ongoing Kennedy Center arts festival of which this concert was one small part - with VOCES DE MUJERES, VOCES DEL PUEBLO, León allowed her audience to go with her on a memorable trip around the world to sample some of the best Spanish, Portuguese, English and Arabic language songs about love/romance, social and political justice, and national pride.

No matter the song or the message contained therein, the enviably versatile León performed them all with passion and conviction from start to finish and delivered them in a sonically pleasing way. For me at least, the songs most connected to a specific place, message, or cause resonated the most lyrically and thus offered the total package. Among those were Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer's "Preludio Para el Año 3001" (Renaceré). Featuring precise and pulsating tango rhythms and León's captivating vocals, it was the highlight of the evening. Other standouts came in the form of "La Paloma." The song is one of contrasts. Melodically, it's quite sweet, but there is real depth to the lyrics. It is little surprise that León, from a technical standpoint, sang the song extraordinarily well, but what was most impressive was the intensity with which she attacks the pointed - and often political - lyrics. "Prende la Vela," most associated with Colombia's Totó la Momposina, was a high point as well due to the energy León brought to the stage. Like her fellow countrywoman Lola Beltrán before her, León was also convincing in delivering the central message of "Vámonos" - we are we 'all the same.'

From a music and performance perspective, there were no lowlights. In the future, however, the creative team might want to rethink a decision to make the event more eye-catching than is probably necessary. Projections - when they could be seen, that is - may have reinforced the messages in several of the more politically and socially-oriented songs, but otherwise added little value. Léon's voice, the soaring melodies and often intricate rhythms, as well as the ease with which she moves about the stage are more than enough to draw the audience in at any given moment. Likewise, the less said about the lighting design choices, the better, but suffice it to say that an overdose of color and moving/flashing lights may be more appropriate for a rock concert in an arena than for a concert like this one. The seemingly ill-planned out lighting design elements detracted from - instead of enhanced - her lovely performance. A decision to shine lights on the audience after every number - and sometimes during - proved to be a bit of a conundrum for me as well.

If a lesser group of musicians was involved, these technical missteps would have been even more noticeable, but thankfully the talent onstage made it somewhat easier to simply block them out after some time.

As an American with unfortunately far too few chances to see many of the great Spanish-language performers live in our area, it proved to be a privilege to see Eugenia León at the Kennedy Center.

Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission.

Eugenia León's VOCES DE MUJERES, VOCES DEL PUEBLO played the Kennedy Center - 2700 F Street, NW in Washington, DC - on March 14 and 15, 2015. This review covers the March 14 performance. For further information on the Iberian Suite festival, see the Kennedy Center website.

Photo: Courtesy of Kennedy Center website.

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