The 23rd edition of the Flamenco Festival celebrates the figure of Paco de Lucía and the musical heritage of the Spanish guitar
Among other artists, with the musical touch of Riqueni, but also with the dance of the National Ballet of Spain, Manuel Liñán, and Olga Pericet. From March 1 to 17, over 150 artists from Spain join forces with 80 from New York to present 44 performances across the United States. These will take place in a total of 21 venues, with 13 in New York and 8 in Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC.
Almost two decades after the guitar maestro Paco de Lucía last performed in the Big Apple, precisely during the Flamenco Festival New York 2007 celebration, the event revisits this historic milestone to bring together 230 participants in a well-deserved tribute to the guitarist on the tenth anniversary of his death. With this premise, Flamenco Festival reaches its 23rd edition in New York, once again as its main venue in the United States, in an unavoidable event from March 1 to 17. The festival will focus on the Spanish guitar, also commemorating the 400th anniversary of the death of the Spanish musician and poet Vicente Espinel. He was a priest, writer, and musician of the Golden Age, credited with adding the fifth string to the Spanish guitar as we know it today.
This was announced today during the press conference by Miguel Marín, director of Flamenco Festival, accompanied by Ernesto Pérez Zúñiga, deputy director of Culture at the Cervantes Institute, and José Miguel Carmona, music coordinator of the SGAE Foundation, collaborating institutions for the event. Many of the scheduled companies and artists were also present at the United States Pavilion of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, the headquarters of the Valentín de Madariaga and Oya Foundation in Seville (Spain). The event detailed the programming of this new edition, featuring prominent figures in this universal art. Names like Tomatito, Rafael Riqueni, Alejandro Hurtado, Raúl Cantizano, Rycardo Moreno, Antonia Jiménez, Diego del Morao, David de Arahal, Olga Pericet, Manuel Liñán, Paula Comitre, Alfonso Losa, Concha Jareño, Israel Fernández, María José Llergo, Inma La Carbonera, Sandra Carrasco, and Los Voluble, among others, contribute to the flamenco's dissemination that the festival offers. The best in flamenco dance, guitar playing, and singing will captivate an audience eager for emotion, witnessing multiple unique and unrepeatable moments in this edition dedicated to celebrating music and highlighting the talent, innovation, and contribution to flamenco by Paco de Lucía.
Nevertheless, attendance at this flamenco rendezvous, a fixture on the North American calendar and described by The New York Times as "one of the city's premier dance events," is expected to surpass 37,400 people (20,600 in New York and 16,800 across other cities). They will have the opportunity to enjoy the performances of the 19 companies featured in this 23rd edition, offering a total of 44 shows across 21 venues in New York, Miami, Boston, Chicago, and Washington DC. The event will take place at renowned venues such as the New York City Center, Town Hall, The Public Theatre, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kauffman Music Center/Merkin Concert Hall, and Berklee Theatre, among others in New York. Tickets and all information for these events are available here.
Flamenco Festival stands as a unique and influential international showcase for flamenco, having, to date, delivered 1,353 performances and featured 169 companies across 101 cities and 161 venues worldwide. Over the past nearly 25 years, it has been graced by the presence of all the major figures in flamenco. Esteemed artists such as Sara Baras, Miguel Poveda, Eva Yerbabuena, Estrella Morente, Carmen Linares, Vicente Amigo, Manuel Liñán, María Terremoto, Tomatito, María Pagés, Manuela Carrasco, Israel Galván, Carmen Cortés, José Mercé, Rocío Molina, Olga Pericet, Rocío Márquez, Rosalía, Mercedes Ruiz, Farruquito, or Rafaela Carrasco, among many others, have illuminated its stages. However, some true geniuses and universal legends who have made history, such as Paco de Lucía or Enrique Morente, are no longer with us.
In light of all this, Flamenco Festival stands out as one of the most significant showcases for the promotion and expansion of Spanish performing arts beyond our borders. This is once again evident in its twenty-third edition, solidifying its position as one of the foremost flamenco gatherings within the cultural programming of the United States.
Flamenco Festival New York 2024 is a project supported by INAEM, the Ministry of Culture, with the collaboration of the SGAE Foundation, the Cervantes Institute, as part of its World Congress of Flamenco, as well as Acción Cultural Española, Harkness Foundation For Dance, Howard Gilman Foundation, National Ballet of Spain, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Consulate General of Spain in New York, King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, and the Society of Spanish Artists, Interpreters, or Performers.
The list of collaborators for Flamenco Festival New York 2024 also includes entities such as the New York City Center, World Music Institute, The Town Hall, Hispanic Society of America, Cervantes Institute of New York, Robert Browning Associates, Le Poisson Rouge, Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, Kaufman Music Center, Roulette New Adventurous, Adrienne Arsht Center, Global Arts Live, The Brook Center, and Centennial Memorial Temple.