The Flamenco Art Festival of Catalonia in Cornellà starts Saturday with a program of performances in which stand out the names of the Cornellà guitarist Juan Gómez Chicuelo and the singer Mayte Martín, among others. Until May 24, the city will become, once again, the capital of flamenco in Catalonia, with various singing and dancing shows.
The festival combines established artists such as Chicuelo and Mayte Martín themselves, as well as new values of flamenco, a way of doing, a house brand of the Coordinator of Flamenco and Andalusian Entities of Cornellà and the council, organizers of the event.
The program
L’Auditori will be the stage where the festival will kick off, this Saturday from eight o'clock, with the performance of the cantaor Vicente Sordo ‘Sordera’ and Chicuelo from Cornellà, and that of Rafael de Utrera. Chicuelo will perform again on Sevilla street on May 15 hand in hand with Cancanilla de Màlaga. This will be the traditional free concert that the festival offers every year and that brings, year after year, renowned artists to perform in the streets of Cornellà for free.
The same theater will host on Saturday, May 23, from eight in the evening, one of the stellar moments of the festival, with the concert by Mayte Martín, who will present her new work there and will be accompanied by guitarist José Gálvez.
Another free show will be that of Alba Molina and Juan Medina at Can Bagaria, on May 16 from half past eight in the evening. On May 9 at eight in the evening, at the Sant Ildefons Auditorium, it will be the turn of the cantaora Fabiola Pérez ‘La Fabi’, accompanied by Curro Carrasco, and of the bailaora Marina González, alongside Rafael Fernández.
Les Acadèmies Dance
The festival will also offer the traditional show Les Acadèmies Dance, where different dance troupes from Andalusian entities of the city will perform in the Sant Ildefons square in front of the neighbors for free. It will be on May 24th at noon. Another featured performance will be Locura Flamenca, a show that approaches flamenco in an unusual way and with humor, respecting at the same time the poetics and the essence of the genre. It will take place on May 23rd starting at 12 noon in the Verge del Pilar square.
And, continuing with activities that go beyond art and delve into the study of the world of flamenco, on May 22 from eight in the evening the Sant Ildefons Auditorium will host a talk by Francisco Hidalgo, who will speak about the Generation of '27, that from which great names like Federico García Lorca or Rafael Alberti emerged. Hidalgo will address the creation of that group and the fact that it was also formed by women, little known and highlighted by the academy, such as the writer María Zambrano. The talk will be accompanied by the music by Ángeles Camacho, on vocals, and Juan Antonio Ruiz, on guitar, and the Grupo D’Anea.
Complementary activities
On May 21, the Clara Campoamor library will hold a storytelling activity for children related to flamenco. It will start at half past five in the afternoon and access will be free.
To conclude, it is worth highlighting the celebration of a workshop for the creation of a flamenco cajón, which will take place on May 16 at 11 in the morning at Can Bagaria, and a flamenco masterclass at the Paca García Flamenco School by La Lupi, a bailaora and Malaga choreographer. That same day, at noon, Miranda street will host a flamenco flashmob that aims to bring this genre to the street and put it in direct contact with the public.
Consult the program at this link.
