FROM PEÑA FLAMENCA NYC

Guess which movie gave Antonio El Farru his big screen debut at a mere 6 years old?!

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ANSWER:

Bodas de Gloria  (1996) 

Bodas de Gloria is an iconic flamenco musical that captures aspects of Gitano (Roma) culture and traditions. The movie is a mixture of fiction and reality with lots of incredible dancing that reveals the social structure of many canastero families and clans. Stars include members of the great Farruco flamenco dynasty: Antonio Montoya El Farruco, Rosario Montoya La Farruca, Pilar Montoya La Faraona, Farruquito, and a young Antonio El Farru. 

In our latest edition of AFICIÓN, Farru shared his experiences growing up in the legendary Farruco family and reflected on the teachings of his Aunt Pilar “La Faraona,” who is also featured in the video clip below.

“For me, my Aunt Pilar brought me the truth. The truth of the moment. To dance what one feels in that moment. The interpretation of your own feelings in that moment, and how to express them. She was a dancer who moved with knowledge, but based on emotion.  

She was not big on studying nor choreography or anything like that. She simply, through movement, told different stories based on what she was feeling in the moment. So for me flamenco, apart from many other things, is the truth. Es la verdad.

We flamencos are transmitters of emotion. To transmit your feelings, you have to be as honest as possible with your own internal self. To be able to feel different things all the time. No one feels the same way every day. Even when you do the same dance, the interpretation can’t be the same twice. The choreography is the same, but what you transmit in that moment will be different. She was very philosophical in the art. Perhaps more of an artist than a dancer.”