The ‘Flamenco legends in cinema’ season will see screenings of titles available on DVD: ‘Mariana Pineda’ by Sara Baras and ‘Francisco Sánchez-Paco de Lucía'

Flamenco-world.com, October 2004
Photos: Daniel Muñoz

The Flamenco Arts Festival is five years old. And the festival, to be held in Santa Barbara (California, U.S.A.) from 27th to 30th October 2004, wanted to celebrate with young blood. Rafael Campallo will star at the event, with two performances of his show ‘Campallerías’ at the historic Lobero Theater. At the festival, whose honorary president is Cristina Heeren, as well as the bailaor from Seville all eyes will be on guitar maestro Paco de Lucía and bailaora Sara Baras, who both feature in the ‘Flamenco legends in cinema’ season, with a screening of the DVDs ‘Francisco Sánchez-Paco de Lucía’ and ‘Mariana Pineda’.

Rafael Campallo

Javier Barón, Eva Yerbabuena, Cristina Hoyos... and now Rafael Campallo are swelling the ranks of stars who've featured at the Flamenco Arts Festival. The shows at Santa Bárbara's Lobero Theater in California on 29th and 30th October 2004 will mark the American première of the dancer's ‘Campallerías’. It's a flamenco dance production which also features bailaora Úrsula López from Cordoba, Dutch guitarist Tino Van der Sman, cantaores Vicente Gelo, Sonia Miranda and El Lombo, and guitarist Juan Campallo. The production, included in the program of the 2004 Festival de Jerez after its première in Seville, is made up of brilliant flamenco dance numbers without any frills or pretence. It includes styles such as seguiriya, soleá por bulerías, farruca, taranto and bulerías.

	Úrsula López

Besides this performance, Rafael Campallo - fresh back from launching his new show ‘Don Juan’ at Seville's Biennial Festival - will give a talk on his career, on flamenco dance and on his projects for the future. The conference will be presented by Cristina Heeren, honorary president of the festival and of the Seville-based flamenco foundation of the same name, and by Alberto Pizano the festival director. The date: Friday 29th October at 1pm in the Mary Craig Auditorium of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He'll also find time to share his talents with students signed up for the workshop he's due to give on Saturday morning, 30th October, along with his contemporaries Úrsula López and Tino van der Sman, at the Lobero Theater Rehearsal Hall and the Carrillo Recreation Center.

Sara Baras and Paco de Lucía, on the big screen

Californian fans will also get the chance to see a wider perspective of flamenco in ‘Flamenco legends in cinema’. The season features the screening of two audiovisual titles, both available on DVD. On the one hand, ‘Francisco Sánchez-Paco de Lucía’, a detailed examination of the home life and career of the maestro of flamenco guitar, coupled with a live concert recording. And on the other, ‘Mariana Pineda’, a recording of the latest show from bailaora Sara Baras from Cadiz, based on a play by Granada's much-loved writer and poet Federico García Lorca.

The Californian festival will also feature two paintings of flamenco subjects by North American artist Channing Peak (b. Colorado, 1910 - d. Santa Barbara, 1989). And this year an honorary award will be made to ballet dancer and choreographer Roberto Amaral, one of the leading exponents of Spanish dance in California. The award ceremony will follow on from a reception with Spanish cuisine, to be held on Saturday 30th October at the Lobero Theater.

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