FROM FLAMENCO VIVO

FLAMENCO VIVO II PERFORMING AT

Battery Dance Festival

August 20th at 7pm EST

at Robert F. Wagner Park & Live-streamed

Flamenco Vivo II brings the best of the New York flamenco scene to the 40th annual Battery Dance Festival. This esteemed outdoor series is NYC’s longest-running free public dance festival, drawing a combined audience of over 12,000 in-person and over 35,000 virtual viewers every year.

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FROM SPAIN: NOTABLE NEWS

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas

“Lo que más me llena del concurso es ser la segunda gitana en llevarme la Lámpara Minera”

Amparo Heredia Reyes, winner of the grand prize for singing at the Festival del Cante de las Minas, said that what satisfied her most about the experience was being the second Gitana in history to win the Lámpara Minera. After a week of competing, five artists won prestigious awards in their respective categories: Lampara Minera (singing), Bordón (guitar), Desplante male and female (dance), and Filón (instrumental).

The Bordón prize went to 26 year old guitarist Alvaró Martinete, whose music expanded to fill the night sky, emanating warmth through his melodies at the outdoor Festival. Rafael Ramírez (Sevilla) and Paula Rodríguez (Madrid), the only finalists in their category, won the Desplante prizes for male and female dancers. Canadian-born, Madrid-based flutist, Lara Wong made history by being the first foreigner to win the Filón prize for instrumentalists in Cante de las Minas’ history.

Amparo Heredia Reyes, “La Repompilla” (Granada) swept the awards, winning not only the coveted Lámpara Minera, but also three other cante prizes in various specialties. It is not the first time La Repompilla has been on the Cante de las Minas stage, and by her virtuosic interpretation of a wide variety of flamenco palos, it’s easy to see why. After the awards ceremony, she closed the festival out with one more minera, and with that, the stage went dark.

Flamenco Vivo is proud of Amparo, who worked alongside the Company while the Repompas lived in NYC for many years. ¡Enhorabuena Amparo!

FROM OUR READERS

LIFESTYLE

Flamenco Lover in Sevilla

by Freddy Wissink

A dream I had for many years came true for me in July, 2021, when I moved from Amsterdam to the best flamenco place in the world: Sevilla. It’s the place to be when you like flamenco as much as I do, as every evening there is always an event or performance somewhere.

About myself, I do play a bit of guitar and also dance a bit, but it’s the singing that has stolen my heart. I had visited Sevilla many times during the Flamenco Biennale, which takes place every two years. For me as Freddy Flamencolover, it is like looking into the kitchen- where you see what’s cooking in flamenco. Visiting every couple years, you watch young talented artists grow to become big names in flamenco. You may see dancers, singers, and guitarists performing in a small, special venue. Then years later you see them doing big shows, but keeping the respect and integrity of the smaller shows.

Now I’ve moved to Sevilla, the capital of flamenco. This is where people come from all over the world to learn flamenco. In the coming years, I hope to improve my skills and who knows- find a small place where I can sing some fandangos, tangos, alegrias and more. Artist wages are low, and the competition is high. There is so much talent here. That’s what makes this place so special- the talent. I try to show flamenco every week on my Facebook page, short video clips of the shows I see that week. I am 100% in the mood to share my love of flamenco, and it keeps me looking at the small and great shows that I adore. My love for flamenco is so great that my name is Freddy Flamencolover. I hope to give you inside info about the flamenco life here in Sevilla! Oleeeeeeee!

FUN FACT

FROM OUR ARTIST DEVELOPMENT SERIES

Did you know?

Did you know that Carmen Amaya is considered “la madre del taranto,” or the mother of tarantos? In a recent class from our Artist Development Series, Estela Zatania credited Carmen Amaya for being the first artist to dance tarantos, a style of flamenco dance based on music originating from the mining region of Almería, Spain. Tarantos are one of the palos (song forms) celebrated by the Festival Cante de las Minas.

ABOUT TARANTOS (español)

ABOUT CARMEN AMAYA (English)

OPPORTUNITY

CALLING ALL WRITERS!

Writers and lovers of flamenco, do you have insights on flamenco that you would like to share? Or an event that would interest our readers? Flamenco Vivo wants to hear from you! Click the link below to contribute content to our Flamenco Weekly newsletter that reaches over 7,500 readers!

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