The XXI edition of Suma Flamenca will take place from October 13 to November 1 with 47 galas across eight venues in the Community of Madrid, featuring Carmen Amaya as its image and a slogan that highlights the role of women.
The XXI edition of Suma Flamenca will be held from October 13 to November 1 with 47 galas spread across eight venues in the Community of Madrid. The festival will present 21 world premieres and twelve more in the region under the slogan 'Flamencas', a proposal that asserts the essential role of women in the history and present of flamenco art. Carmen Amaya is the face of an event that will bring together female singers, dancers, musicians, creators, teachers, and transmitters of the flamenco legacy.
The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Community of Madrid, Mariano de Paco Serrano, and the director of Suma Flamenca, Antonio Benamargo, presented this edition on Tuesday at the Teatros del Canal, as reported by Madrid Actual. De Paco Serrano emphasized that "culture and flamenco, like life, cannot be understood without the participation of women," and added that Madrid will once again be the "capital of jondo art."
Benamargo explained that the programming will allow for an analysis of the female presence in various spheres of flamenco, both in its artistic dimension and its industry. The journey will cover everything from singing cafés and flamenco opera to tablaos and contemporary proposals, without shying away from the historical weight of "carving a path in a man's world" in an environment marked by "barriers, micro-machismo, and macro-machismo."
Among the key figures that underpin the festival is Pastora Pavón, known as 'La Niña de los Peines'. Benamargo recalled how, in 1908, an 18-year-old woman from Seville entered a recording studio and, "unbeknownst to her, saved flamenco from the 19th century." The singer became forever linked to tangos, and Federico García Lorca later turned her into a myth of duende, describing her as the woman who would drink cazalla in one go before singing like no one else.
Carmen Amaya, nicknamed 'La Capitana', is considered by Benamargo to be the most universal dancer of flamenco. Her footwork, of extraordinary strength and rhythmic precision, broke down social, cultural, and geographical barriers, leaving a mark that transcends flamenco itself to inscribe itself in the history of 20th-century dance.
De Paco Serrano also dedicated some words to the master Pepe Habichuela, who passed away last August. "Wherever he is, I'm sure he is listening to us and will be playing," expressed the minister, who highlighted the presence of the guitarist in the festival through 'Yesqueros'.
The dance will traverse from the roots to the avant-garde with Rocío Molina, Israel Galván, and Patricia Guerrero, accompanied by Andrés Marín, Adela Campallo, Karime Amaya, Gabriel Matías, Mercedes Ruiz, Jesús Carmona, Estévez & Paños, Yoel Vargas, Farruquito, Lucía La Bronce, Rebeca Ortega, El Yiyo, Belén López, La Piñona, Claudia la Debla, Patricia Donn, and Lucía Ruibal.
The singing will feature the voices of Carmen Linares, Israel Fernández, and Aurora Vargas, alongside Ezequiel Benítez, Argentina, Alicia Morales, Capullo de Jerez, Paco del Pozo, Sandra Carrasco, Ricardo Fernández del Moral, Pedro el Granaíno, Rocío Luna, Lucía Beltrán, Segundo Falcón, and María de Carmela. The section will also include the meetings 'From Chipiona to La Isla', with Jesús Castilla and Samuel Serrano, and 'From Málaga to Cádiz', with Cancanilla de Málaga and Caracolillo de Cádiz, both at the Paco Rabal Cultural Centre in Vallecas.
The guitar will feature Juan Ramón Caro, Andrea Salcedo, and José Almarcha, as well as Agustín 'El Bola', Manuel Herrera Jr., Alejandro Hurtado, Jerónimo Maya, and Joni Jiménez. The programming will also open its sounds to the piano of Chano Domínguez, the flute of Trinidad Jiménez, the harmonica of Antonio Serrano, and the mix of voice, saxophone, and flute by Antonio Lizana with the guitar of José Manuel León.
The Teatros del Canal will be the main stage, although the programming will extend to the Teatro de la Abadía, the Pilar Miró and Paco Rabal cultural centres, the Teatro Real Coliseo Carlos III of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the Teatro Real Carlos III of Aranjuez, the Royal Monastery of El Paular, and the Comarcal Centre for Humanities of La Cabrera.
Metro de Madrid joins the festival with the exhibition 'Solera. To the Rhythm of the Metro', installed in the Museum of Historical Trains in Chamartín. The photographs by Javier Enrique Fernández will interact with artists such as La Lupi, Eduardo Guerrero, and Fuensanta La Moneta, alongside vintage trains and emblematic stations of the Madrid network. De Paco Serrano noted that "Metro de Madrid is always close to culture, always promoting the extension of this culture to all Madrid citizens."
As a prelude, the Teatros del Canal will host the Suma Flamenca Joven galas from September 24 to 27, featuring artists such as Esmeralda Rancapino, Laura Reyes, Eleazar Cerreduela, Aitana Rousseau, and Álvaro Moreno. The Ateneo de Madrid will complete this prologue from September 30 to October 2 with sessions on women in flamenco featuring dancer Sara Calero, guitarist Mercedes Luján, and journalist Ángeles Castellano. The same venue will host a photographic exhibition until October 28.
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