2019 festival roundup
For us in the southern hemisphere, winter brings with it the knowledge that those in the north are basking in their summer months. And in the world of flamenco, summer means festival season. Here we take a look at some of 2019’s big flamenco festivals that you can expect to see popping up in your social media feeds over winter.
Festival Flamenco Alburquerque
15-22 June 2019
http://ffiabq.org/
Olga Pericet - Photo by Paco Villalta courtesy of Festival Flamenco Alburquerque
In its 32nd year, this festival combines flamenco performance and education, welcoming international and national artists and teachers to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s hosted by the National Institute of Flamenco and the University of New Mexico in the United States and is the oldest and largest flamenco event outside of Spain. This year’s lineup features Sergio de Lope, "La Piñona", Belén López, Concha Jareño, Manuel Liñán, and Winner of the 2018 National Dance Prize, Olga Pericet.
Festival de la Guitarra de Córdoba
4-13 July 2019
https://guitarracordoba.es/
In the month of July the city of Cordoba in Spain’s Andalusia converts itself into ‘the city of the guitar’. Like Alburquerque, this festival also combines performance and education activities. It covers a range of music genres - not just flamenco but also modern, jazz, and classical guitar music. This year’s program includes flamenco guitar workshops with Niño de Pura, Cañizares, Manolo Sanlúcar and José Antonio Rodríguez as well as flamenco dance workshops with Eva Yerbabuena and Olga Pericet.
Flamenco Festival London
2-14 July 2019
https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2019/flamenco-festival-london/
Hosted by Sadler’s Wells this festival brings a number of big flamenco names to London. It offers a few workshops but is mostly about the stage with an extensive lineup of flamenco artists from Spain. This year’s program includes performances by Sara Baras, Miguel Poveda, Rocío Molina and… (she’s busy this summer!) Olga Pericet.
Fiesta de la Bulería
19-24 August 2019
https://www.flamencodejerez.info/fiesta-de-la-buleria/
Back to Spain and it’s the 52nd Fiesta de la Bulería. This annual event in Jerez, Andalusia is this year dedicated to women. The main event in this festival are three evenings of flamenco in the open air in Jerez’s Alameda: on the 22nd its ‘Fiesta de la Bulería Joven’ directed by María Terremoto; on the 23rd ‘Fiesta de la Bulería Internacional’ directed by María Bermúdez; and on the last evening ‘Fiesta de la Bulería de Jerez’ directed by María del Mar Moreno.
Most of us won’t be lucky enough to visit even one of these festivals this year, but not to worry! Keep your eyes out for great photos and video content coming out, as festival organisers usually publish highlights of each day’s events online. If you follow flamenco channels on social media you can expect to see content from these festivals in your feeds over winter. And keep an eye on the Flamenco Australia Magazine Facebook and Twitter accounts too!