Paco de Lucía, Sara Baras, Tomatito, Gerardo Núñez and Eva Yerbabuena, among others, take part in the schedule of shows for the Japanese fair

S.C., April 2005

Expo Aichi 2005 will serve to further strengthen the existing ties between flamenco and Japanese audiences. The Spanish pavilion at the international exhibition, which will take place between the 25th of March and the 25th of September in the oriental hills of Nagoya, offers the public a high quality range of flamenco in its schedule of shows. The guitars of Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, Gerardo Núñez and Cañizares, dance from Sara Baras, Eva Yerbabuena and Belén Maya, and the voices of Carmen Linares, Diego el Cigala and Mayte Martín will all ring out in all their splendor across the stages of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and the Expo ground itself between May and September. The Ballet Nacional de España, the Compañia Andaluza de Danza, Nuevo Ballet Español and Gala Flamenca round off the line-up of acts which will also feature Japanese flamenco companies such as Yoko Komatsubara´s.

Carmen Linares (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Aware that “flamenco is a valuable part of our culture and a unique form of art very much appreciated in other countries, and especially in Japan”, the Spanish pavilion at the 2005 Expo Aichi “sought to organize a high quality program, on which veteran maestros share their art with the youth; in which the purest and most traditional of styles is combined with modern tendencies”, according to the organizations official website.

	Sara Baras (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

These statements will be backed up by a full repertoire of events scheduled for May. Flamenco dance will make its first appearance with performances by Sara Baras on the 7th of May at the Expo and on the 10th of May at the Tokyo International Forum. Eva Yerbabuena will perform her show `Eva. A cal y canto´ at this same Tokyo venue on the 11th of May; Nuevo Ballet Español will present `Flamenco Directo´ on the 12th; Mayte Martín and Belén Maya will be exhibiting their `Flamenco de cámara´ on the 13th; and Gala Flamenca – with Carmen Cortés, Rocío Molina and Carlos Rodriguez - is scheduled for Saturday the 14th of May.

The remaining acts planned for May will take place at the Expo Dome: on Sunday the 15th, Gerardo Núñez will be performing the concert `Andando el tiempo´, Gala Flamenco will be shown again on Thursday the 19th; and on Saturday the 21st Diego el Cigala and Chucho Valdés will present the much acclaimed `Lagrimas Negras´. The finishing touch to this intense month will be put in by Vicente Amigo with his concert at Tokyo’s Orchard Hall, where he will present his new album `Un momento en el sonido´.

Paco de Lucía

Logo Expo Aichi 2005

Paco de Lucía will be the centre of attention for the flamenco agenda in July. The guitar maestro will be performing at the Tokyo Art Space (20th, 22nd and 26th of July) and at the Expo Dome (25th of July), coinciding with the week the exposition will dedicate to Spain. With the aim of showing gratitude to the “Japanese passion for flamenco”, the stage will be offered to the Yoko Komatsbura company, one of the most representative of Japanese flamenco. The celebrations of Andalusia week, from the 1st to the 7th of August will once again bring flamenco to Aichi. After that, the Compañia Andaluza de Danza – currently run by Cristina Hoyos under the name Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía - will perform on the 4th of August in Nagoya’s Art Prefectual Theatre.

From guitar to popular songs

Aichi will bear witness to plenty of Flamenco activity during the last month of the Expo. Between the 1st and the 5th of September, classical guitarists Tomatito and Pepe Romero will be performing four shows in the Ohji Hall and the Tokyo Opera City, both in the capital city, at the exhibition’s Expo Hall and at the Osaka Nakanoshima Kokaido in Osaka. The Ballet Nacional de España will be representing flamenco dance with a performance on the 7th of September at the Art Prefectual Theatre in Nagoya.

Spanish pavilion at Aichi 2005

The fusion of traditional Spanish music and flamenco will be made evident by the concert, to be performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and directed by Josep Pons, scheduled for the 9th of September at the Bunka Kaikan Hall. This will feature an appearance by cantaora Carmen Linares, who will subsequently present three concerts performing popular songs compiled by Federico García Lorca at the Osaka Nakanoshima Kokaido in Osaka (12th of September), at the Tokyo Shinjuku Bunka Center in Tokyo (from the 14th to the 16th of September) and at the Tokyo Sumida Triphony in Tokyo (18th of September). Those in charge of arranging the grand finale of this Expo Aichi 2005 are none other than Cañizares and José María Gallardo, blending flamenco and classical guitar, as they already did with great success in the U.S and London, at the Osaka Nakanoshima Kokaido and at the Tokyo Sumida Triphony.

The Japanese Exposition will also be an opportunity for other musical displays with flamenco influence. This is the case of singer-songwriter Javier Ruibal, from Cadiz, who performs on the 23rd and 24th of July in the Cay Club in Tokyo and on the 27th at the Spanish pavilion. There will also be a showing of Spanish hip hop with the presence of La Mala Rodriguez on the 27th of July at the Expo Dome. In fact all sorts of ‘made in Spain’ cultural displays are expected to be exhibited in this global showcase: from Picasso and Tápies exhibitions, to musical performances by musicians and groups such as Carlos Nuñez, Mastretta or Marlango, as well as the experimental theatre of La Fura dels Baus and activities related to the four hundred year anniversary of Don Quixote.

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