WHO WAS THERE?
- Guest artists Antonio Arrebola, Marisol Encinas, Vicente Griego, Ricardo Anglada and Rebeca Tomas. Mele and Jason Martinez of Tucson’s Flamenco del Pueblo Viejo Student Company. UA students, faculty and alumni also met up at Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave., for the second annual Tucson Spanish and Flamenco Festival. Close to 1,000 guests attended the five-day festival according to Marita Gomez, co-owner of Casa Vicente.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
- Flamenco del Pueblo Viejo’s all-female student performers came out on stage dressed like matadors and cheekily reenacted a bullfight.
- Guest artist Antonio Arrebola of Málaga, Spain, delicately touched a loudspeaker on stage with the tips of his fingers in the middle of his solo performance.
- Different personalities and styles came out on display when Katrina and Fabian Sisneros performed alongside Mele and Jason Martinez for a couples dance.
- Guest artist Vicente Griego from New Mexico, paused in his jam session with Arrebola to sing softly into my recorder, first in Spanish, then in English.
FLAMENCO FACTS
- Flamenco originated in Andalucia, Spain, in the 18 century as folk music.
- Castanets, or palillos, are not commonly used in flamenco, except Seville-style flamenco.
- Flamenco mainly consists of cante (singing), baile (dancing) and toque (guitar).
FLAMENCO VOCABULARY
Palo – a musical form or style in flamenco
Tablao – a flamenco venue, often a café or restaurant
Palmas – hand clapping
Palmeras – hand clappers who provide percussion in place of, or along with, a cajón
Cajón – box-shaped drum played by slapping its front
Duende – spirit, soul, emotion or feeling – originally meaning sprite, fairy or spirit
