On its 25th anniversary, Flamenco Festival

New York evokes the legacy of the

figures who inhabited the city

.

Dancers Sara Baras, Eva Yerbabuena, Manuel Liñán, Andrés Marín, and Olga Pericet; singers Rocío Márquez, Ángeles Toledano, and Rosario La Tremendita; and guitarists Dani de Morón, Gerardo Núñez,

and Antonio Rey are just some of the artists who will be bringing

their talents to the Big Apple.

New York remains that eternal bridge where flamenco blends with the city, a place that not only inspires flamenco artists, but welcomes them every year with unwavering love. This is demonstrated by a loyal audience that, year after year, fills every venue to reconnect with this art form; an audience that continues to grow, expanding a vibrant and diverse community that embraces flamenco as part of its own cultural heartbeat.

In this embrace between the Big Apple and the compás, the program for the 25th edition of the Flamenco Festival unfolds, a new chapter in this love story in which the participating artists will pay tribute, through their own theatrical language, to those figures who inhabited the New York of yesterday, celebrating how the city transformed their perspectives, broadened their forms of expression, and opened up new creative possibilities that continue to beat strongly in the cultural heart of the city today.

The singer Rocío Márquez will open the Flamenco Festival New York with ‘Himno Vertical’, a work of profound artistic and conceptual depth that can be seen on February 25 at the CUNY Graduate Center. Accompanied on guitar by Pedro Rojas-Ogáyar, the Huelva-born artist will present an album that takes the form of a contemporary requiem: a sound ceremony that is not limited to farewell, but also celebrates origin, transition, and transformation.

From the contemplation of ‘Himno vertical’ to the exaltation of the body and rhythm. The Gala Flamenca will take over the iconic Moorish-style New York City Center theater on February 26 and 28, and March 1, reviving the spirit of ‘Flamenco Puro’, the legendary show that conquered Broadway in 1986 and marked a milestone in the history of flamenco in New York. This year’s Gala features a particularly outstanding cast that brings together some of today’s most significant artists. Eva Yerbabuena brings depth, sobriety, and emotional intensity; Manuel Liñán expands the expressive language of flamenco with a contemporary and daring vision; El Farru represents the living lineage, directly connecting the Gala with the legacy of ‘Flamenco Puro’; and Juan Tomás de la Molía, making his New York debut, contributes freshness and precision from a new generation.

After this collective celebration, the festival returns to the territory of choreographic creation to delve into the very essence of flamenco. On February 27, Estévez/Paños y Compañía—winner of the 2019 National Dance Award in the Creation category—will present ‘La Confluencia’ in this same space, a show inspired by several artists (Vicente Escudero, Mario Maya, and Carmencita) that focuses on the mestizo origins of flamenco, born from the encounter between cultures, and vindicates it as a living space of crossroads, memory, and transformation.

Estévez/Paños y Compañía will once again meet with the city’s audience on March 3, this time at NYU Espacio de Culturas, alongside dancer Yoel Vargas—who is making his debut in the Big Apple—to present Landscape + Silencios, a double program that pays tribute to Carmen Amaya, Jon Cage, and Vicente Escudero.

The energy and virtuosity of Sara Baras will not be missing from this 25th anniversary, as she closes the program scheduled at New York City Center. From March 5 to 8, the artist will offer several performances of ‘Vuela’, created to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her company, while paying tribute to the legendary guitarist Paco de Lucía, who found in the city a space for artistic freedom and dialogue that influenced his music and helped to project flamenco onto the global stage.

Flamenco Festival New York continues to expand its reach by venturing into different types of venues to diversify experiences and audiences. In this regard, the Festival returns to Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater to bring the essence of flamenco to those seeking the thrill of a more direct encounter with the artists. The flamenco guitar will open the program in this space with José Fermín Fernández, recognized in 2019 with the Bordón Minero award at the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas and a member of a new generation of guitarists who combine a deep respect for tradition with a personal and distinctive voice. With ‘Guitarra desnuda’ (Naked Guitar), on February 27, he will offer an intimate and essential journey through flamenco guitar, stripped of artifice, where each note and each nuance is revealed with clarity and depth.

He will be one of the artists making their debut in New York in the next edition, along with Irene Morales, who will follow him on the same stage the following day to present ‘RAW’, a show created as part of the In Progress creative residencies, the flagship initiative of the Flamenco Festival and Torrox Town Council (Malaga) dedicated to the creation and development of new flamenco projects. ‘RAW’ is a daring proposal that places flamenco in an intense dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity. The work, which expands through electronic textures, live instruments, and visceral rhythms, exploring new territories for flamenco without losing its vital pulse, will contain a special tribute to Sabicas, paying homage to the legendary guitarist through the dance of his iconic ‘Zapateado’.

On March 6, Raquel Heredia ‘La Repompa’ returns to New York, the city where she made her debut at the age of 15 dancing alongside her mother, the singer Rafaela Reyes, to present ‘Pido permiso’, a show that pays tribute to the legacy of her family, one of the great dynasties of flamenco. Her dance will invite the audience on a journey where rhythm and silence, strength and vulnerability, tradition and instinct coexist in perfect harmony.

La Repompa’s presence at this year’s festival also takes on special significance given that, more than two decades ago, this performance alongside her mother sparked the passion for flamenco of the festival’s director, Miguel Marín, and served as inspiration for the creation of the festival in 2001. Thus, with ‘Pido permiso’, an artistic and personal circle is closed, symbolizing both the continuity of a family tradition and the spirit of the Flamenco Festival itself.

Rosario La Tremendita will also be making a stop in the Big Apple. ‘Tránsito’ is the name of the show that will take to the stage at Joe’s Pub on March 8 with guitarist Dani de Morón. Stripping flamenco down to its purest essence, the singer will explore the traditional styles that form the soul of the genre. Her unmistakable voice, together with the resonant guitar, will shape a space where memory and innovation connect; an encounter between past and future, a return to authenticity and an act of resistance against the noise of our times.

Right there, on March 13, Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández, a dancer and singer based in New York, will take to the stage with ‘Vínculo’, a show that captures the vibration of an encounter in which emotion, art, and memory intertwine to form a world of their own. Every gesture, sound, and pause establishes an open dialogue in which the tradition of flamenco meets the personal vision of its creators.

This fruitful exchange between jazz and flamenco, a creative embrace that has been a part of the history of the Flamenco Festival New York since its inception, will once again take center stage in this 25th edition at one of the city’s musical temples, Jazz at Lincoln Center. Under the title ‘Flamenco Meets Jazz’, the festival offers two performances, on the 4th and 5th, in which guitarist Dani de Morón, one of the most personal and innovative figures in contemporary flamenco guitar, will share the stage with renowned pianist Shai Maestro; an event that will honor Paco de Lucía’s spirit of openness and dialogue between genres. In addition, the guitarist will dedicate a piece to Mario Escudero, one of the most influential flamenco guitarists in the United States.

Roulette también formará parte de la nómina de espacios de Flamenco Festival Nueva York en esta edición, acogiendo el debut en el Festival de Ángeles Toledano, una de las voces más punteras y singulares del flamenco actual, capaz de conectar con nuevas generaciones sin renunciar a la esencia del género. El 7 de marzo, en colaboración con Flamenco Eñe, programa de internacionalización del flamenco español de la Fundación SGAE, la joven cantaora presentará ‘En concierto’, un formato a dúo que dialoga con su repertorio flamenco y en el que dejará espacio para celebrar a Lorca y a La Argentinita incluyendo alguna de las ‘Canciones Populares’, el histórico proyecto conjunto de estas dos figuras que después se convertiría en una referencia fundamental en la interpretación de la canción popular española. 

Ese mismo 7 de marzo, y ampliando aún más el mapa sonoro del festival, el Bronx Music Hall será el escenario de una cita única que vuelve a tender puentes entre culturas y tradiciones. Con motivo del 25 aniversario, el latin jazz y el flamenco se encuentran en ‘Tributo a Lola Flores’, un homenaje vibrante a ‘La Faraona’, que actuó en teatros y clubes nocturnos de Nueva York desafiando las categorías convencionales de cante y baile, y mostrando el flamenco como una experiencia total y visceral. Su impacto en la ciudad fue capturado de manera memorable por un crítico de The New York Times, que escribió la conocida frase “No canta, no baila, no se la pierdan.” 

Tomarán parte en este tributo el baterista, compositor y director nominado al Grammy Bobby Sanabria, líder de Ascensión Band, acompañado por la cantaora Mara Rey, que debuta como solista en Nueva York, y por la joven voz de Jennifer Jade. 

Tras el homenaje a Lola Flores, Flamenco Festival continuará celebrando a grandes figuras de la música española con un concierto dedicado a Manuel de Falla en el 150 aniversario de su nacimiento. El 14 de marzo, el Centennial Memorial Temple acogerá ‘Tributo a Manuel de Falla. 150 aniversario’, a cargo del Manhattan Wind Ensemble, que se adentrará en el universo del compositor gaditano desde una mirada contemporánea, reinterpretando su obra para viento y percusión y dotándola de una energía renovada

Ese mismo 14 de marzo, los ritmos flamencos se trasladan a Town Hall para rendir homenaje a otra leyenda del flamenco, Sabicas, quien transformó el género desde este teatro de Nueva York, donde dio el primer concierto solista de guitarra flamenca de la historia, tras llegar al exilio en los años 40, convirtiendo su hogar en un verdadero refugio creativo para generaciones de artistas. ‘Tributo a Sabicas’ reúne a tres generaciones de guitarristas: el virtuoso Gerardo Núñez, el ganador de dos Latin Grammy Antonio Rey y el joven talento Álvaro Martinete. Junto a ellos, la reconocida bailaora Olga Pericet aporta su interpretación audaz y elegante, reinventando el flamenco con ingenio, fuerza e intensidad en un espectáculo que celebra la influencia y el legado de uno de los grandes maestros de la guitarra. Pericet brindará, aquí, un recuerdo a Carmen Amaya, pareja artística de Sabicas, interpretando algunas de sus piezas emblemáticas, como ‘Embrujo del Fandango’ o ‘Soleá’.

En su recorrido por la ciudad desde teatros históricos hasta salas de vanguardia, el Festival vuelve a desplegar su programación en escenarios que han sido parte de su historia y que vuelven a la propuesta, acogiendo espectáculos que amplían la riqueza de formatos y contextos que caracteriza cada edición. En el primero de ellos, el Baryshnikov Arts, el festival recuperará los días 4 y 5 de marzo la esencia de los antiguos café cantantes con ‘Fiesta Flamenca’, un espectáculo que sitúa a músicos y bailaores entre el público, creando una atmósfera cercana e íntima. La velada cuenta con un elenco estelar formado por los bailaores Juan Tomás de la Molía, Alberto Sellés, que también debuta como solista en Nueva York, y Raquel Heredia ‘La Repompa’, junto a la cantaora Mara Rey. 

El segundo de estos espacios es el museo Guggenheim. Presentado en colaboración con Work and Process y el Instituto Cervantes, ‘YARIN’ es el título del espectáculo que podrá verse allí el 8 de marzo, un encuentro intercultural entre Jon Maya, dantzari o bailarín tradicional vasco, y el bailaor flamenco Andrés Marín, que debutan en la edición americana del Festival acompañados por la música en directo de Julen Achiary.