UA students will get a chance to sing, stomp and clap late into the night throughout this weekend for Tucson’s First Spanish and Flamenco Festival.

Mele Martinez, of Flamenco del Pueblo Viejo and one of the main festival organizers, said she hopes UA students take this chance to enjoy a taste of the Spanish nightlife.  

“”In Spain, people go out to bars late at night, but it’s not the same way they do here in the United States. … In a lot of ways, it’s superior because it’s not just huddling in one room and listening to recorded music,”” Martinez said.

Casa Vicente is hosting and organizing the festival, which begins today, with Club España de Tucson and Flamenco del Pueblo Viejo. 

Organizers hope to recreate the jovial Spanish atmosphere for festivalgoers. Events include workshops that cover the three aspects of flamenco — singing, guitar, dancing — conducted by featured performers. Admission also covers free tastings of imported wines from Spain, paella cooking demonstrations by Club España and a glass of sangria.

While the performances will feature nationally and internationally renowned stars of the flamenco world, the festival will also showcase Tucson artists. Many UA students are members of Martinez’s Flamenco del Pueblo Viejo, and will perform this weekend — among them are guitar performance sophomore Misael Barraza, entomology graduate student Milagra Weiss and landscape architecture graduate student Maria Voris. 

Martinez said she wants UA students to see and experience what flamenco is through the festival. She also said she wants to dispel any misconceptions they might have about flamenco.

“”They may have the assumption that flamenco is a folky art form that doesn’t really pertain to their lives. But actually it’s a very highly sophisticated form of music that’s really, really fun to watch and really interesting to listen to,”” Martinez said.  

The First Tucson Spanish and Flamenco Festival begins today and will end Sept. 20. All events and workshops will be held at Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave. Tickets for today or for Saturday are $20. Sunday tickets are $10. Weekend tickets are $40. Workshop participants receive a discount for weekend tickets. For more information and to order tickets, contact 520-884-5253 or visit www.tucsonspanishflamencofestival.com.