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Renewed interest
During the last ten years the venues offering traditional Spanish music have
sprung up all over the map of Buenos Aires. The phenomenon could easily be attributed
to the rise of flamenco pop, led by French group Gipsy Kings. But in the case
of Argentina mass-marketing isn't the key, there have always been close ties with
flamenco and classical Spanish dance due to the immigrant population. A glance
along the shelves of leading record shops along the calle Corrientes gives you
some idea of demand for flamenco in Buenos Aires: Camarón, Ketama, Pata
Negra, Manolo Salúcar, Los Chunguitos, Enrique Morente, Paco de Lucía,
Tomatito...
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I Festival Flamenco de Rosario's poster
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This awakening coincides with the rediscovery of tango, which has found an
audience with younger generations alongside rhythms from other cultures. Salsa,
merengue, Arabian dance and afro-Brazilian sounds also enjoy popularity here.
New theaters are clamoring for flamenco. The Borges Cultural Center programs a
flamenco show every year, and Espacio Collete, on Paseo La Plaza, has a permanent
flamenco program. And some of the city's public institutions such as the Centro
Cultural Recoleta or the Larreta and Fernández Blanco museums offer dance
companies and live music.
The conversion of bars and restaurants into flamenco venues is eye-opening,
above all in the San Telmo barrio. There are just two tablaos. The famous Bar
Ávila, on Avenida de Mayo, has accompanied its show with Spanish gastronomy
since 1962. Osvaldo Decurnex is the owner of the tablao Tiempo de Gitanos, which
was opened toward the end of 2000. Since then all the leading figures in Buenos
Aires have passed through the venue, including Alicia Fiuri, Néstor Spada,
Laura Manzella, Claudia Bauthian, Cecilia Insúa, Héctor Romero,
Antonio Montoya, Laura Pauza, Emilio Romero, Argentina Cádiz, Claudio Arias,
Maribel Herrera, Los Iberia, and Gabriela Balado. The shows are organized and
promoted via a website called 'Luna del Olivar'. This publication and the printed
magazine 'Contratiempo' play a fundamental role in the renaissance of local flamenco.
The dance academies play another important role here. There are ample opportunities,
and anyone can learn flamenco. Teacher Virginia Pedraza, who's taught flamenco
dance since 1988, is setting up a group in 2003 made up exclusively of women who
are already grandmothers. Buenos Aires City Council run many arts courses, and
among them is a completely free introductory course in flamenco. Alicia Fiuri
and Néstor Spada, founders of Ballet Flamenco Alicia Fiuri and of Ballet
Jaleo, run the workshops at the Borges and San Martín Cultural Centers,
and at Margarita Bali's studio.
Alicia Fiuri and Néstor Spada
(Photo: Jorge F. Pinamonti)
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A knock-on effect of this boom can be felt in parts of the country with very
little in common with Andalusian traditions. This is true of the Entre Ríos
and Corrientes provinces, where Anahí Ortega teaches. She runs the Alma
Mora Arts Center, located in Concordia (Entre Ríos province), a town of
some 125,000 inhabitants, which will be home to the region's first faculty of
flamenco, teaching five year courses. Then there's the Instituto Sevilla in San
Juan which has been managed by teacher Edith López for several decades
now. It's affiliated with Buenos Aires's Conservatorio Fracassi, and it's a total
of twelve years' study there before you're awarded your diploma. One of the leading
academies in Buenos Aires is the Real Instituto de Danza Española, which
gives an official award after three years, and the Sibila Cultural Center, both
of them run by Sibila Miatello. The former school is modeled on the program of
studies at the Real Escuela Profesional de Danza in Madrid, the Conservatoire
from which the bailaora graduated. At La Romería, which is directed
by musician Héctor Romero, you can take courses in dance and music. El
Camarín de las Musas offers classes under the watchful eye of Laura Manzella,
and at Moro Rubí studio they're given by Marisa Cura.
Added to the above are the short courses given by Spanish teachers who visit
the country. In the last few years these visitors have included La Tati, Manolo
Marín, Juan Paredes, Miguel Cañas, La China, Rafael Amargo and Antonio
Ortega. Even so, Argentinean professionals try to travel to Spain to polish their
technique. "In 1996 I went along to the tablao El Corral de la Morería
and I found out that what the bailaoras did there was nothing like what
I was doing," comments Anahí Ortega. Taken aback by this she was off
to Madrid to take classes at Academia Amor de Dios, a popular destination with
Argentineans, then down to Almería to study with Arantxa Guerrero and Joaquín
Turina. The first choice of teacher for South Americans varies: in 1999 Alicia
Fiuri was awarded a scholarship by the Andalusian Regional Government to take
a course in Seville with Javier Barón. Two years later she attended courses
given by Adela Campallo, Hiniesta Cortés, Pili Ortega, Ana Salazar Manolo
Marín and Rafael Campallo. Her dance partner, Néstor Spada, chose
to take classes with an earlier generation, with Pilar La Faraona and Javier Latorre.
Graciela Ríos Saiz trained in Andalucía, Madrid and Córdoba
with Tona Radeli and Luisa Pericet.
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Simpecao: Flamenco pop group
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Among the most outstanding musical groups which have sprung up in Argentina
are El Ensamble and La Compañía, both under the direction of Héctor
Romero. The first group represented the flamenco arts at the Japan Latin Festival
in January 2003, alongside Alicia Fiuri and Néstor Spada. Esencia Gitana
is fruit of the Cádiz-Romero flamenco clan, with the unmistakable voice
of Argentina Cádiz, and Los Iberia are another family outfit with forty
years of experience. As for flamenco-pop, the group Simpecao from Mendoza appeared
in 1995, led by Daniel Moreno and María Soledad Contreras. After signing
with Sony for their third album, the group has just recorded its fourth disc,
independently produced and featuring vocals from special guest, Uruguayan Rubén
Rada.
Since 1989, when Granada's Festival Internacional de Tango was conceived, there's
been a desire for an Argentine city to host a flamenco festival. From 4th to 7th
December 2002, with the support of the Andalusian Regional Government and Granada
city council, the city of Rosario played host to Spanish, Latin American and Argentinean
names, among them the legendary Enrique Morente. The success of the 1st Festival
Flamenco de Rosario bears witness to the high respect flamenco has come to command
in Argentina.
Bibliography resources
(1) Saborido, J.R. y Fernández de Almará, A.: "Los andaluces
en Argentina antes de la guerra civil”, en Presencia andaluza en Argentina,
Litopress, Córdoba, 1992.
(2) Alvarez, G.: “De “género chico”, tonadilleras, cupletistas...”,
en Los españoles de la Argentina, Manrique Zago, Buenos Aires, 1985.
(3) Saborido, J.R. y Fernández de Almará, A. : “Esperanza
y desencanto: los andaluces y el fin de la Segunda Guerra Mundial”, en Presencia
andaluza en Argentina, Litopress, Córdoba, 1992.
Pujol, S. : “Presencia de la música española en la cultura
popular porteña”, en Clementi, H. (comp..) Inmigración española
en Argentina, Companía Impresora Argentina, Buenos Aires, 1991.
Revista La Maga, Especial sobre flamenco, Buenos Aires, 25 de octubre, 1995.
Revista La Maga Colección, Relaciones culturales entre España
y Argentina, Buenos Aires, diciembre, 1997.
magazine@flamenco-world.com
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