NEW SHORT FILM

Proud Roma

by Pablo Vega

Award-winning Spanish Romani film director Pablo Vega premiered Proud Roma yesterday, January 25th. The short film was released as part of the Proud Roma Free Europe campaign, galvanizing pride in Roma identity and was inspired by the work of Charlie Chaplin, who unbeknownst to many was of Roma descent.

To learn more about the film, we recommend reading the following two articles:

ADVENTURES OF FREDDY FLAMENCO LOVER

Studying at la Fundación Cristina Heeren

A firsthand experience

For the past 6 months, I have been taking daily flamenco singing classes at the Fundación Cristina Heeren del Arte Flamenco, in the Triana neighborhood of Sevilla. This is one of the best schools to take dance, guitar, or singing classes. It was founded in Granada in 1993 by Cristina Heeren, a lady who came from New York and nowadays has a prominent flamenco school in Andalucía, well known for its great history in flamenco.

Like everything else, the pandemic has affected the school over the past two years, but there are still many people from all over the world who come to study here. So myself, I am a guitarist who is studying flamenco singing. It is not easy for somebody from another country, like me from Amsterdam-Holland, but I enjoy it 100%. The teachers are well known artists like Manuel Romero, Armando Mateos, and Esperanza Fernández. There is also a flamenco theater in the school building, where current and former students perform four times a week.

So far, I have learned many flamenco palos (styles of flamenco song) like Fandangos de Huelva, Alegrías de Cádiz, Malagueñas, and Tangos de Triana. Keep in mind, there is also vocal training and history— I mean it is a full daily program, and you have to study every day or you’ll fall behind. Yes, there are also exams to do, but the teachers are always there to help you pass. The price, I think, is very good, as you get daily instruction from 9:00 am till 3:00 pm, and if you are very good (which some of the Spanish speaking students are, by nature) you also will get to perform. Or some students are already performing regularly but take the classes to improve even more. For me it has been a great experience, and I hope to do more in 2022. Viva Flamenco! Viva La Fundación! And Greetings from Freddy Flamencolover in Sevilla!

PEÑA FLAMENCA NYC

What’s a copla Española?

Hint: Some Spanish coplas were sung at our Peña event this past Friday.

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Last Friday, Flamenco Vivo presented Musicians of Flamenco, a virtual concert as part of La Peña Flamenca NYC. The chat was buzzing with great comments and lots of interesting info. Singer Juan Pedro explained that the tangos he sang included some coplas Españolas, and fellow singer, Alfonso Cid, gave some great context to understand what coplas are! He said to think of them as the Spanish version of show tunes. Because coplas are ingrained in Spanish culture, they have also influenced flamenco.
Some artists known for singing coplas include: Isabel Pantoja, Pasión Vega, Diana Navarro, Lola Flores, Estrellita Castro, Miguel de Molina, Rocío Jurado, Carlos Cano, Manolo Escobar, Concha Piquer, and Raquel Meller.
Some of the most representative songs of this style are “María de la O,” “Pena, penita, pena,” “Ojos verdes,” “La bien pagá,” and “Carmen de España.”