The National Ballet of Spain and Las Migas Headline the Second Week of the 23rd Edition of Flamenco Festival New York

Flamenco Festival continues to celebrate its 23rd edition in New York and other American cities until the 17th of this month. With the Spanish guitar taking center stage, the event kicked off on Friday, March 1st, with a recital by the master Tomatito at the iconic and historic Town Hall in New York. Tomatito will repeat the performance today, Thursday, at the Willshire Ebell Hall in Los Angeles. The festival features a lineup this second week the National Ballet of Spain and Las Migas, among other key figures of contemporary Spanish flamenco. These artists will showcase the best of flamenco dance, guitar, and singing to an eager audience in various venues across the Big Apple, as well as in Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC. This 23rd edition is marked by a tribute to the guitarist Paco de Lucía, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death, and the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of the Spanish musician and poet Vicente Espinel. In the upcoming days, the festival will feature a triple performance on the 8th, 9th, and 10th by the National Ballet of Spain. The company returns to New York with the premiere of "Invocación," an adaptation of Mario Maya's "De lo Flamenco", originally choreographed for the Andalusian Dance Company (now the Flamenco Ballet of Andalusia). Rubén Olmo revives and highlights this piece for this special occasion. Additionally, two new choreographies, "Taranto" and "Romance del emplazado," created by Maya's disciples, Isabel Bayón and Rafaela Carrasco, will be featured. As a finale, the National Ballet of Spain will pay tribute to Paco de Lucía, as they did in performances held on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the Ziff Opera House of the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. Women are increasingly gaining prominence in the evolution of flamenco guitar playing. Therefore, as part of the International Women's Day commemoration on March 8th, the singer Inma la Carbonera and guitarist Antonia Jiménez will present the show "A Gaya", their first joint proposal, at the former residence of the Spanish ambassador in Washington DC (Friday, 8th). The performance will also take place the following day at Roulette in New York and on Sunday the 10th at the Instituto Cervantes in Chicago. In the same vein, Flamenco Festival will also feature Las Migas, winners of the Latin Grammy for Best Flamenco Album 2022, presenting their repertoire, blending traditional flamenco elements with classical music, at Joe's Pub in the legendary The Public Theater on Sunday the 10th, after their performance at the Instituto Cervantes in Chicago (Wednesday, 6th). Furthermore, Alfonso Losa will also be present at the festival with his own space, presenting his proposal "Creative Space" on Saturday the 9th at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston. Flamenco Beyond the Stage In addition to the scheduled performances, Flamenco Festival New York is hosting other significant events that will enrich the experience of the event in the city. In line with the tribute to the legacy and figure of Paco de Lucía from various perspectives and disciplines, New York will also be a meeting place for reflection and dialogue about the exceptional musician. The symposium on Paco de Lucía organized by the Foundation for Iberian Music (The City University of New York) is the first academic event on Paco de Lucía held in the United States. It will take place on Thursday the 7th, with participants including Francisco Javier Bethencourt Llobet from the Complutense University of Madrid; composers and guitarists Pedro Cortés and René Heredia; Ben Lapidus from John Jay College; David Leiva Prados, official transcriber of Paco de Lucía/IFB/Taller de Músicas/UCM; John Moore from the University of California; guitarist Alejandro Hurtado; writer and journalist Juan José Téllez; musical journalist and culture editor of Cadena Ser, Lourdes Luque; and writer Estela Zatania. Their respective contributions will focus on the indelible influence of America on Paco de Lucía and, conversely, the impact of Paco de Lucía on music and musicians in America. Thus, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Paco de Lucía's death, this symposium will explore his transformative influence on the global music scene. Guitarist Alejandro Hurtado will conclude the symposium at the Elebash Recital Hall with the show "Miradas," which he will present alongside the principal dancer of the National Ballet of Spain, Inmaculada Salomón.