The second edition of the French festival runs from March 18th to April 10th 2003

Flamenco-world.com

For four years now the peña Alma Flamenca - a club of flamenco enthusiasts - have been dedicated to pushing Andalusian culture up in the French Pyrenees. The second edition of their main event - 'Rencontres Flamencas de Toulouse et Midi-Pyrénées' - runs from March 18th to April 10th 2003, and boasts a stunning program. La Paquera and guitarist Parrilla de Jerez, Miguel Poveda with Chicuelo, as well as bailaora Belén Maya all put in an appearance, and there's a full range of parallel activities including courses, movie screenings and exhibitions.

La Paquera de Jerez (Photo: Javier Hurtado)

María Luisa Sotoca Cuesta, artistic director of the festival, whose aim is "for people to enjoy themselves and get to know this marvelous artform better", has lined up an exceptional program for this second edition of 'Rencontres Flamencas de Toulouse et Midi-Pyrénées'. Cantaor Miguel Poveda from Cataluña, accompanied by Chicuelo on guitar, kicks off in Toulouse with his production 'Suena Flamenco', at Salle Nougaro on April 8th. And the festival is brought to a close at the same venue two days later by La Paquera, accompanied by Parrilla de Jerez al toque - the guitarist has incidentally been offered the role of artistic director at future editions of the event. Warming up for the emblematic artistic duo from Jerez will be Estefania Suissa, Cristo Cortés and Daniel Manzanas, bailaor, cantaor and tocaor respectively.

In the run up to these two headline shows, things start hotting up in various corners of the region, such as Auch, Colomiers, Cahors and Tournefeuille. From March 18th onward, there'll be activities like a cinema season featuring the movies 'Los Tarantos', 'Salomé', 'Agujetas Cantaor' and 'Vengo'. There'll be two photographic exhibitions - 'El flamenco es vida' by Patrice Nicolas, and 'Arte y Duende' by Corinne Moronta, and a conference by Gabriel Sandoval on 'The origins and evolution of the flamenco arts'. Besides this, the group comprising dancer Estefania Suissa, vocalist Cristo Cortés and guitarist Daniel Manzanas will take their shows 'Soniquete' and 'De mosaico' around various venues in the region. As far as courses - organized by Pasqual Guyon - are concerned, the star of the show will be bailaora Belén Maya, who'll give an intensive course in Toulouse on April 5th and 6th. Estefania Suissa will be taking care of the beginners' course on March 22nd and 23rd in Auch. This event, which has previously featured artists like María del Mar Moreno, complements other flamenco events on the French circuit, such as Festival de Mont de Marsan and Les Voix du Cante Flamenco de Grenoble.

magazine@flamenco-world.com