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Alalá means joy in caló, a feeling that helps people shine with their own light. Although it started seven years ago by calling itself the Caracafé Association, what is already the Alalá Foundation works to achieve the social integration of children and young people at risk of social exclusion, promoting training in values.

It all started at the initiative of Emilio Caracafé , a gypsy from the Tres Mil Viviendas, the poorest neighborhood in Spain. He managed to overcome numerous difficulties until he became a professional guitarist, to the point of having recorded with Camarón de la Isla or with the band Pata Negra.

Emilio's dream was that the children in his neighborhood did not suffer the same as he did to get a guitar , and he wanted to start a project with the help of Blanca Parejo, sister-in-law of José Manuel Soto. Blanca at the time was part of the Las Seventies duo with Lola González-Bourrelier, but she has left music to dedicate herself completely to her new job as director of the Alalá Foundation.

The association started by serving about 20 children who were taking guitar lessons and learning to play soccer. Shortly after, to turn it into a foundation, they created a strong board of trustees pulling friends : the president is José María Pacheco, president of Grupo Konecta; the vice president, José Manuel Soto; and among the members are César Cadaval, Francisco Rivera Ordóñez, Miguel Báez el Litri, Rosauro Varo, Iván Bohórquez and the president of Acciona, José Manuel Entrecanales, in turn, president of the recently launched Jerez de la Frontera delegation, who He works in the Estancia Barrera neighborhood.

Currently, the Alalá Foundation cares for some 250 children, mostly from Roma families , although there are also payos, Nigerians and children of immigrants. Flamenco in all its aspects is very important, having references in the world of music who act as teachers, as well as sports, but the fundamental thing is education in values.

There is also a lot of educational work. As Blanca Parejo tells LOC, the Alalá Foundation awards scholarships together with the Loyola Andalucía University; the BIT scholarship on new technologies, sponsored by José Manuel Entrecanales, and the flamenco grant from the Cristina Heeren Foundation.

For all this work, funds are needed , which for the last five years have been obtained, for example, from a dinner-auction. "The first year we did it in Seville and the others in Sotogrande. They donate gifts to us for auction , in addition to what the assistants pay for the place setting." But this year, due to the coronavirus, that party could not be celebrated, so they have lost that essential collection.

Therefore, from Alalá they have devised the campaign Flamenco changes lives, accompanied by the hashtag # 300Oportunidades. Their goal is to raise the money they need for their work. And in just one week they have raised more than 46,000 euros based on donations through the Foundation's website. "Because people are holding their hearts," says Blanca.

Along with the important support they receive from entities such as Konecta, Acciona, Mapfre, La Caixa and the Ebro Foods Foundation, they have released videos for this new campaign in which they have had the help of numerous personalities . Among them, the actors Amaia Salamanca, Maribel Verdú and Antonio Banderas; the journalist Carlos Herrera; the director of the National Ballet of Spain, Rubén Olmo; Real Betis Balompié player Joaquín Sánchez, humorist Jorge Cadaval, musician Raimundo Amador, bailaor Antonio Canales, cantaor Joaquín El Zambo, chef Pepa Muñoz, bullfighter José María Manzanares, singer Sasha Sokol, painter Domingo Zapata ; Bertín Osborne, the rejoneador Fermín Bohórquez and the businessman Alejandro Soberón.

A tremendous support that attests to the great work that the Alalá Foundation does to help some of the most needy children in Spain.

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