The film section pays homage to Carmen Amaya and Carlos Saura

Carmen Jiménez, October 2003

America sets its sights on flamenco once again. The Flamenco Arts Festival, which was launched four years ago in the city of Santa Barbara in California, focuses its 2003 edition on Cristina Hoyos. Presenting her production 'Al compás del tiempo', the bailaora and choreographer from Seville takes over where artists like Javier Barón and Eva la Yerbabuena, stars of the previous editions left off. The festival, which runs from Tuesday October 28th till Sunday November 2nd, also pays its respects to legendary flamenco artists like Carmen Amaya.

The American première of Cristina Hoyos's show 'Al compás del tiempo' will form the centerpiece of the fourth Flamenco Arts Festival, to be held this autumn in Santa Barbara (CA). Traveling with her will be artists such as Juan José Jaén 'El Junco', José Luis Rodríguez and David Palomar. The company will perform this production on Friday October 31st and Saturday November 1st at the Lobero Theater. Additionally, the dancer will be interviewed live on Friday October 31st at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, by none other than festival director Alberto Pizano, who'll be asking her about the keys to success in her work and her career in flamenco. The climax of the festival will see her presented the 'Lifetime Achievment Award' in recognition of her career as a bailaora, choreographer and actress, which will be presented to her by the festival's honorary president José Luis Dicenta, consul-general of Spain in Los Angeles, and by the mayor of Santa Barbara, Marty Blum.

Cristina Hoyos

In keeping with the festival tradition, the 'Flamenco legends in cinema' section sets aside a space for emblematic flamenco legends. The first tribute will be to bailaora Carmen Amaya, on the fortieth anniversary of her death, and the festival will be showing her movie 'Queen of the Gypsies. A film portrait of Carmen Amaya' on Thursday October 30th at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to mark the occasion. Produced and directed by Jocelyn Ajami, the film revolves around the life and work of one of the foremost figures of flamenco, admired all over the world, and especially in the U.S.. In fact, following her death a street was named after her in New York, and many events have been held, like this one, in her honor.

Neatly coinciding with the presence of Cristina Hoyos, the second homage to the world of flamenco cinema will go to Carlos Saura, not for the first time. The program features a screening of the films 'El amor brujo' and 'Bodas de Sangre' on October 28th and 29th respectively. Both are based on plays written by poet Federico García Lorca from Granada, and star the original Antonio Gades-Cristina Hoyos partnership.

Showcase on young talent

Another of the festival's aims is to contribute to the growth of flamenco with the work of young American artists who are performers in their own country. Set aside to this end is the 'Noches Flamencas' gala evening, which will bring together five Californian artists on Thursday October 30th: guitarists Paco Arroyo and Rafael Aragón, cantaora Charo Monge and bailaoras Yolanda Arroyo and Gabriela Garza. The action moves on in the small hours of the morning to the Soho club, where the party stay its course and where a bulerías contest will be held. The festival also reatures wordhops running from October 31st through November 2nd.

And Santa Bárbara has been preparing for this festival for months already. The warm-up started in June with a children's concert designed to spark interest in Spanish culture and flamenco among the youngest members of society, and with a first showing of the film 'Queen of the Gypsies'.

Flamenco Arts Festival was launched in 1999, the brainchild of Alberto Pizano, the event's director, and Vibiana, the artistic director. In just four years this has become one of the leading flamenco festivals in America. This was largely made possible with the cooperation of several institutions from the State of California, such as the Santa Barbara Trust For Historic Preservation, the Santa Barbara Historical Society and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, as well as the University of California at Santa Barbara.