Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to find out about flamenco is to attend flamenco. That said, these two Wikipedia articles may be useful:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_flamenco_terms
Both Alegrías en La Nacional and Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana have monthly events.
The annual Flamenco Festival usually comes to New York in March.
UNESCO declared flamenco as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 16 November 2010. A year later, the 16th of November became the official International Day of Flamenco.
The shouts of “olé”, “guapo”, and so on, from the audience during a performance is called jaleo. Whether jaleo is audience encouragement or audience participation may be a difference without a distinction.
Tempranillo pairs well with flamenco.
Newsletter
In addition to a full schedule of programs and classes, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana (https://flamenco-vivo.org/home/) has a weekly newsletter, La Voz Flamenca, which includes bits flamenco history and trivia in each issue as well as a curated selection of events and classes around town.
Films
Any list of flamenco in the cinema has to begin with Carlos Saura. In addition to his must-see 1995 documentary, Flamenco, there is his “Flamenco Trilogy”: Blood Wedding (1981), Carmen (1983), and El Amor Brujo (1986). Other notable flamenco films are Los Tarantos (1963) and Triana Pura y Pura (2013).
Of course, not every film with flamenco is a masterpiece. Among the best of the least are: Carmen (1915), Blood and Sand (1941), The Kissing Bandit (1948), The Captain’s Paradise (1953), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), The Pride and the Passion (1957), and The Pleasure Seekers (1864). Noted Hispanophile Ava Gardner has her own flamenco trilogy with Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), and The Naked Maja (1958).
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David Melville, the noted writer and film historian based in Edinburgh, has provided Flamenco in New York with his own selection of the best (and worst) of flamenco in film:
Dance is difficult to film and flamenco dance is no exception. But the obvious first port of call would be Carlos Saura, who made a string of dance-related films in the 80s and 90s. Carmen, Blood Wedding, El Amor Brujo, and, yes, Flamenco.
Then there are the kitsch 'españolada' musicals made in Spain under Franco. Anything with Sara Montiel, Carmen Sevilla, Lola Flores or Imperio Argentina will probably have some flamenco scenes. La Bella Lola (1962) with Montiel and Carmen la de Triana (1938) with Argentina have particularly good flamenco.
The great male dancer, Antonio, made a couple of films: Duende y Misterio del Flamenco (US title, Flamenco, 1952) by Edgar Neville and Honeymoon (1959) by Michael Powell. Both have spectacular dance scenes and Antonio in the Powell film gives possibly the campest performance in film history.
My favourite forgotten star, Conchita Montenegro, began as a flamenco dancer. She dances in the silent film of The Woman and the Puppet (1929) as well as in later films like Una Boda en el Infierno (1942).
Possibly the worst flamenco dancing I've ever seen is in Leni Riefenstahl’s Tiefland (1954), followed closely by Viviane Romance in the French film of Carmen (1945). At least Romance is a good actress.
As for films that use flamenco in a dramatic context: The Barefoot Contessa, Death of a Cyclist (1955), 10:30 PM Summer (1966), Volaverunt (Bigas Luna, 1999), The Flower of My Secret (Pedro Almodovar, 1995), and Callas Forever (2002). There's a very kinky drag flamenco scene in the José Larraz soft-porn film, The Coming of Sin, a.k.a., Violation of the Bitch (1978).
Also, the great tragic flamenco dance at the end of The Place without Limits (1978) by Arturo Ripstein, scripted without credit by Manuel Puig (because of Ripstein and he had a serious falling out).
The Top Ten: Duende y Misterio del Flamenco; Flamenco; Honeymoon; The Woman and the Puppet (Jacques de Baroncelli); El Dorado (Marcel L'Herbier, 1921); Carmen la de Triana (Florian Rey); La Bella Lola (Alfonso Balcazar); The Flower of My Secret; The Place without Limits; and Callas Forever (Franco Zeffirelli). Dishonourable Mention: Tiefland.
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A few additions from a course I took with Juan Vergillos online about Film in the Golden Age of Hollywood (more-or-less anything before the mid 1960s): The Loves of Carmen (1948; The Alamo (1960); Ship of Fools (1965); and The Bobo (1967).
Music
Any compilation of music is going to spark debate and discussion. Of course, there are a few performers who will be on most, if not all, lists – Paco de Lucia, for example – but, at some point, whim and personal taste will dominate. Spotify alone must have well more than a hundred such flamenco playlists. Seach and sample at your own risk.
The list of Latin Grammy Awards for Best Flamenco Album comes with its own controversies. However, in the end, an album either was nominated or it wasn’t and an album either won or it didn’t. The winning albums since 2000 are:
2000: Camarón and Tomatito, Paris 87.
2001: Vicente Amigo, Ciudad de las Ideas.
2002: Antonia Núñez, Mis 70 Años Con El Cante.
2003: Pepe de Lucia, El Corazón De Mi Gente.
2004: Paco de Lucia, Cositas Buenas.
2005: Tomatito, Aguadulce.
2006: Diego El Cigala, Picasso En Mis Ojos.
2007: Ojos de Brujo, Techari.
2008: Juan Habichuela, Una Guitarra En Granada.
2009: Niña Pastori, Esperando Verte.
2010: Tomatito, Sonata Suite.
2011: Niña Pastori, La Orilla de mi Pelo.
2012: Paco de Lucia, En Vivo Conciertos España 2010.
2013: Tomatito, Soy Flamenco.
2014: Paco de Lucia, Canción Andaluza.
2015: Various Artists, Entre 20 Aguas: A La Música de Paco de Lucia.
2016: Niña Pastori, Amane Como Soy.
2017: Vicente Amigo, Memoria de Los Sentidos.
2018: Arcángel, Al Este Del Cante.
2019: Not awarded.
2020: Antonio Rey, Flamenco sin Fronteras.
2021: Pepe de Lucia, Un Nuevo Universo.
2022: Las Migas, Libres.
2023: Niña Pastori, Camino.
Many flamenco performers sell their CDs at their shows. Aside from helping support local talent, buying the CD also makes a wonderful souvenir of the evening.
Books
Any list of books in a site about flamenco in New York has to start with Ninotchka Bennahum and K. Meira Goldberg’s 100 Years of Flamenco in New York City, an exhibition catalogue that was recently reprinted by Flamenco Vivo (flamenco-vivo.org).
The rest of the list is by no means complete. It’s what I have on my bookshelf, but I will add to both as I discover new titles.
Alcalá, Miguel. Flamencos.
Bernal, Michael. The Golden Age of the Spanish Dance.
Charnon-Deutsch, Lou. The Spanish Gypsy: The History of a European Obsession.
Chávez, Nicolasa. The Spirit of Flamenco.
Edwards, Gwynne. Flamenco!
Goldberg, K. Meira. Sonidos Negros: On the Blackness of Flamenco.
Goldberg, K. Meira, Ninotchka Devorah Bennahum, and Michelle Heffner Hayes. Flamenco on the Global Stage.
Goldberg, K. Meira and Antoni Piza. The Global Reach of the Fandango in Music, Song and Dance.
Hayes, Michelle Haffner. Flamenco: Conflicting Histories of the Dance.
Holguín, Sandie. Flamenco Nation.
Howson, Gerald. The Flamencos of Cadiz Bay.
Ivanova, Anna. The Dancing Spaniards.
Leblon, Bernard. Gypsies and Flamenco.
Manuel, Peter. Flamenco Music: History, Forms, Culture.
Pohren, Donn. The Art of Flamenco.
Pohren, Donn. Lives and Legends of Flamenco.
Pohren, Donn. A Way of Life.
Schreiner, Claus. Flamenco.
I found most of these books in used-book stores here in New York. To find books about flamenco, alibris.com and abebooks.com are better sources than the obvious ebay.com and amazon.com.
Classes
Coming soon.
Suppliers
Coming soon.
Miscellaneous
It is a rare guide book or travel memoir about Spain that doesn’t cover flamenco at least in passing, but for two flamenco is actually why the writer wound up living in Spain: Jason Webster’s Duende: A Journey into the Heart of Flamenco (2004), to study guitar, and Nellie Bennett’s Only in Spain: A Foot-stomping, Firecracker of a Memoir about Food, Flamenco, and Falling in Love (2014), to learn how to dance.
There are several institutions around town dedicated to Spanish culture and history. The two of the more important are the Instituto Cervantes (https://nyork.cervantes.es/en/default.shtm) and La Nacional (https://lanacional.org/). The first not only has a full program of Spanish language classes, but also gallery exhibitions, presentations, and sometimes even shows and lectures about flamenco. The second, La Nacional, is the Spanish Benevolent Association (Centro Español), which hosts Alegrías as well as tango milongas and other such events. In addition, there is the Hispanic Society of America (https://hispanicsociety.org/), a museum that covers Spanish and Spanish Colonial art. Some of its programs include flamenco or flamenco adjacent events. To complete the list there are the Americas Society (https://www.as-coa.org/), which often has interesting exhibitions in its gallery as well as a range of educational programs, mostly about Latin American politics, and El Museo del Barrio (https://www.elmuseo.org/), which is devoted to mostly contemporary Caribbean art in general and Puerto Rican art in particular. Both those two latter institutions are controversial.