Flamencas de Madrid, from the return of Cristina Hoyos to the female resurgence of the tablaos

There are people who have never been to a tablao.

Same as bingo.

Or to a football game.

Already;

They are things that, you will say, cannot be compared, sacrilege.

Except in a small detail that as a child does not even have a name: communion.

So whatever you're thinking of me for including bingo in the equation, you can already erase it.

In bingo souls also vibrate in unison.

With its ups and downs, Madrid has always been the port where any artist or show of the genre has moored its success in Spain, the mother of all tablaos and the melting pot where this best art has been intertwined with other music, dance and formats.

«Madrid was and is the capital of flamenco because we all came here, from Córdoba like me or from any other place, to look for our opportunity and to create.

And also, because there are a lot of fans", confirms

artistic director of the

(the oldest tablao in Spain, 66 years old now), mythical bailaora,

Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.

It has also been the space for which many flamenco women, mainly artists, but also businesswomen, managers, producers..., have opted to put their talents into play and challenge a space that, like so many others, is reluctant to abandon its strong male imprint.

In an investigation directed by

in the early 2000s, published by

and entitled 'Flamenco women, ethnicity, education and employment in the face of new professional challenges', the authors calculated that in Spain some 500 women were professionally dedicated to flamenco, most of them dancers (many more than men).

But they observed an interesting phenomenon among the 'figures' (especially in cities like Seville and Madrid): the vertiginous rise of the women of cante, which for the authors represented "the conquest of the word, of the precious asset, of the cultural capital of the verb that separates them from the exclusive fixation of the flesh, of the body, as the only vehicle of communication to which they had been confined through dance».

Blanca del Rey, artistic director of the Corral de la Morería, during a performance. Photo: PACO MANZANO

The proud defense of that confinement and the reconquest of cante are gestated day by day in the capital's twenty tablaos (including

directed by

with

at the helm,

's

of

and

...), where it is perpetuated, in some with more and in others with less fidelity and success, a tradition whose survival owes a lot to the 'guiris' (with affection) but to which more and more curious people from around here are approaching (experience tourism takes, and is there anything more experiential than feeling the bailaor's drops of sweat on your own body if you've sat in the front row? It's happened to me. In the metaverse there's none of that).

Depending on which tablao you go to, you will see more or less Spanish audience.

In the Corral de la Morería a lot, of the order of 40-60%, Blanca del Rey calculates, between fans and companions.

"Because many foreigners go to the Prado Museum and then their Spanish friends take them to a tablao, they are not going to go to a disco," she says.

All the greats of flamenco have passed through the most mythical tablao -the 'New York Times' has said that it is one of the places in the world to visit before dying'-, many of them national dance awards: « I bring the best because it's what I'm good at, because I dedicate myself to that, to tour the festivals of Spain, France, the Netherlands... And everything that succeeds there goes to the Corral de la Morería, "says the artistic director.

beyond the tablao

But that is not the only open front of the flamenco women from the capital.

It is also fought in ambitious and new formats -which in reality are not so ambitious-, such as the flamenco musical

promoted by

(who choreographs) and the three-time National Theater Award winner

(who directs), with permanent character in the reborn

on Arenal street.

The new flamenco show 'OléOlá', choreographed by Cristina Hoyos.

It is frankly difficult not to have heard about this novelty in Madrid, because the EMT buses announce it line by line (bingo again).

It is a flamenco 'show-dinner' that aims to "break the fourth wall and bring together dance, original music, avant-garde visuals and Lorca culture", they explain.

The common thread is the history of flamenco itself, enlivened gastronomically with a mixture "of Andalusian, Arab, gypsy and Castilian roots of flamenco encapsulated in dishes that tell us about our past and present".

And it is that, as

there is no longer a social occasion without food that crosses it.

In fact,

is structured around a stew , the show produced by the

and led by the Utreran- born

since 2018, now reactivated after the Covid lapse (one day we will write a report that do not have the word Covid inside, promised).

"Well yes, we have turned on our stove again and with more desire than ever," says the multidimensional artist.

In addition to songs, in the show Maui prepares a stew on stage while she interviews a character with some kind of connection to flamenco.

Or not.

Then the public eats the stew and everyone goes home.

profession passion

In their research, the aforementioned experts from the University of Seville come to say that one of the problems in quantifying flamenco is precisely flamencoism.

That is to say, finding the border that separates the flamenco professional and the one who lives flamenco, which sometimes coincide, but other times they don't.

Maui is undoubtedly among the first, because he likes, he says, "to ask the greengrocer in the market opposite my house for broccoli, he always smiles and a little piece of Utrera comes back to me."

Maui is at the helm of the 'Sundays of vermouth and stew', at the Flamenco Theater in MadridPhoto: PACO MANZANO

He has been in Madrid for six years.

«When I arrived, flamenco was very much alive in the streets, in houses and in spaces where there was room for shared revelry», he appreciates.

Now, he says, things are "a little more relaxed, there are still many people doing quality flamenco, many colleagues with exciting projects, and spaces in which the genre is exposed in a more formal way..., but everything is more moderate than So, I imagine that the pandemic has had to do with this.

Time to time.

From Madrid, although born in Talavera, Sara Cano also displays her art, another face of flamenco, that of those who do not adapt to the canon.

She personifies the complexity of careers linked to dance in general and the avant-garde in particular.

Bailaora, dancer, choreographer, businesswoman,

with her show

we will be able to see her on May 29, at the

with

a show that emerged from her

«a meeting with the dancer

and the guitarist and singer

with the assistance of

».

For this work, Sara Cano is a candidate for this year's Max in the category of best female dance performer.

It is not the only project on her dance agenda.

Workshops at the

and the

the tours of 'Vengo!'

and

(in its line closest to flamenco), the first steps of her 2023 show "where I intend to combine aspects of Castilian folklore and texts by writers from the Golden Age", the preparations for her participation in the next flamenco festivals in Albuquerque and Düsseldorf...

Sara Cano in 'Mujer de pie', where she fuses flamenco and contemporary dance from an absolutely personal language.Photo: MARCOS G PUNTO

Ridden to the wave of what is presented as a great year for her, Sara Cano is nonetheless realistic with the situation of her profession.

«It is nothing new for me to tell you that our profession is one of survivors, that we are used to always facing instability, intermittent work and, ultimately, the difficulties of being an artist in our country.

Especially if you dedicate yourself to dance, the poor sister of the arts in Spain.

This has always happened, and it would not be different in the current situation, dedicating ourselves to flamenco or any other style of dance.

It is true that flamenco has been greatly affected, both internationally due to the cancellation of tours and festivals, and more locally due to the closure of tablaos.

Now that we are starting to get out of this situation, there has been a clear recovery.

But more public and private support is still needed to strengthen the cultural fabric, both in the field of flamenco and in dance in general».

Bingo.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

See links of interest

• Last News

• Oscar 2022 winners list

• Work calendar 2022

• How to do

• Panathinaikos - Real Madrid