Siempre Flamenco and Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County present
Siempre Flamenco's 20th Annual Festival de Cante Flamenco Miami
Featuring
Guest Singers
Mari Peña Diego Amador Jr.
Javier Heredia
Guest Dancers
Raquel Heredia
Rafael Campallo
Guest Guitarists
Jose Cortes “Pansequito”
Antonio Moya
Siempre Flamenco Artistic Director and Dancer
Celia Fonta
Siempre Flamenco Musical Director and Guitarist
Paco Fonta
Lighting Design
Richard Rodriguez
Photo courtesy Siempre Flamenco.
Program
Martinete: Singers and Rafael Campallo
Cante: Diego Amador Jr.
Baile: Celia Fonta/ La Caña
Cante: Mari Peña
—Intermission—
Baile: Raquel Heredia
Cante: Javier Heredia
Baile: Rafael Campallo
Fin de Fiesta: Full Cast
About Siempre Flamenco
Siempre Flamenco, Inc. was founded in 2002 by Celia and Paco Fonta as a not-for-profit corporation with the purpose of promoting awareness and preservation of the art and traditions of Flamenco. With yearlong programs fit for diverse audiences and performances at libraries, schools, Hispanic heritage festivals, street fairs and concert halls throughout Florida, Siempre Flamenco does its utmost to enrich the cultural community through flamenco. In March 2006, Siempre Flamenco produced the first Festival of Cante Flamenco in Miami to celebrate the cultural heritage of flamenco song and dance. Cante flamenco is seldom heard outside Andalusia. This traditional festival is one way to help preserve, maintain and pass down to future generations this beautiful art form. This year marks the 19th edition of this festival, which has gained international recognition as the only one of its kind in the United States. It is the goal of Siempre Flamenco to continue quality programming throughout all Florida and the United States with cultural and educational programs aimed at promoting and preserving the art and tradition of flamenco music and dance.
For more information about Siempre Flamenco, please visit SiempreFlamenco.com. If you have enjoyed this performance, please consider supporting Siempre Flamenco, Inc. with a tax-deductible donation at PayPal:fontaflamenco@gmail.com.
This program is made possible in part by the Arsht and with the support of the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
Performers
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Celia Fonta
Artistic director and dancer
Artist Bio
Celia Fonta
Celia Fonta
Celia Fonta is a native of Chicago, where she studied flamenco guitar before beginning her career in dance. She began her studies of flamenco, Spanish classical and folkloric dance in Madrid at the world-famous dance studio Amor de Dios. Fonta is a recipient of the prestigious Florida Folk Heritage award. She has been a recipient of the Florida Folk Life Apprenticeship Program as Master Artist, and has received an Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the State of Florida. Fonta has been a guest artist and teacher in flamenco workshops and concerts all over Florida and the United States. She was adjunct instructor of Spanish dance at Florida International University for five years. Currently, Fonta teaches private lessons by appointment.
As artistic director of Siempre Flamenco, Fonta has produced and choreographed the Festival of Flamenco Song for the past 20 years, as well as numerous traditional and experimental shows. Notable fusion shows include Mojito Andaluz, a fusion of flamenco and Afro-Cuban music and dance; Flamenco Sephardit, a program exploring the connections between Ladino and flamenco; Beats and Compas, an experimental hip-hop and flamenco dance concert; and the highly successful FlamenJazz Jam. Traditional shows include Mirada Flamenca, Furia de Color Flamenco and Viñetas de Verano.
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Paco Fonta
Musical director and guitarist
Artist Bio
Paco Fonta
Paco Fonta
Paco Fonta is internationally recognized as a foremost flamenco guitarist, singer and composer. He has been praised as an accomplished singer of Cante Jondo, the most authentic, profound and difficult flamenco style. Born in a small town near Jaen in the Andalusia region of southern Spain, he learned to sing flamenco from the town’s traditional musicians. He began his professional career performing in tablaos and festivals accompanying singers and dancers.
Fonta is a recipient of the Florida Folk Heritage Award, which "recognizes the state’s most influential tradition bearers for excellence, significance and authenticity."
Fonta has twice been a recipient of the Florida Folk Life Apprenticeship Program as a master artist. As a composer, he has collaborated on writing dance music for Siempre Flamenco, Ballet Flamenco la Rosa and Ensemble Español. Fonta has recorded with prominent artists such as Gloria Estefan, Olga Tañon and David Bisbal.
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Mari Peña
Guest singer
Artist Bio
Mari Peña
Mari Peña
Maria Del Carmen Romero Peña, a Gypsy singer known in flamenco as Mari Peña, was born in Utrera (Seville). She is one of the most outstanding heirs of Utrera female singers. Peña comes from one of the most important flamenco families from Utrera, Peña de Lebrija, and is related to great flamenco artists Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera and Juan Peña el Lebrijano. She has worked with El Lebrijano, Manuel de Paula and Inés Bacán, and has taken part in numerous recordings. Most recently, she recorded a solo album titled Mi Tierra. She is married to guitarist Antonio Moya, with whom she performs all over Spain and Europe at the most important flamenco festivals. If there is something that characterizes this cantaora, it is her naturalness when it comes to singing. She is simplicity and truth personified.
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Diego Amador Jr.
Guest singer
Artist Bio
Diego Amador Jr.
Diego Amador Jr.
Diego Amador Jr., born in Sevilla, is a talented musician and the son of renowned pianist and multi-instrumentalist Diego Amador. Surrounded by a Gypsy family with a strong flamenco influence, he debuted as a percussionist but over time gravitated toward singing. Many flamenco greats passed through his home, such as Camarón de la Isla, Farruquito, Farruco, Juana La Revuelo and Lole y Manuel. The combination of being a great composer, musician and all-around artist has allowed him to accompany many of the most influential figures, such as Tomatito, Joaquín Cortés and La Susi. His curiosity for music and art has led him to collaborate with leading figures in jazz such as Pat Metheny, Birelli Lagrene and Charlie Haden. Amador has released an album titled Presente en el tiempo, which showcases his musical versatility and passion for flamenco.
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Javier Heredia
Guest singer and festero
Artist Bio
Javier Heredia
Javier Heredia
Javier Heredia was born in Seville into a family from the famous flamenco district La Alameda de Hércules. Listening to his grandfather and his father at an early age, Heredia began to sing at family events and private parties. A self-taught artist, Heredia is a festero, a rare character in flamenco who dances, sings and gets the excitement flowing. Heredia identifies with iconic festeros Paco Valdepeña, Miguel Funi, Beni Cádiz and Puerto Anzonini.
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Rafael Campallo
Guest dancer
Artist Bio
Rafael Campallo
Rafael Campallo
Rafael Campallo is an essential figure in flamenco dance. Trained by José Galván and Manolo Marín, he made his professional debut at the age of 16 and has since developed a solid career. He holds the Desplante Award from the International Festival of Cante de las Minas in La Unión (Murcia). Throughout his career, he has worked with flamenco greats such as María Pagés, Manuela Carrasco, Vicente Amigo, Antonio Canales, Javier Barón and Fernando Romero. He has shared the stage with his siblings Adela and Juan Campallo in various projects. He continues to explore new approaches within flamenco while combining his artistic career with teaching, leading courses and master classes at home and abroad.
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Raquel Heredia
Guest dancer
Artist Bio
Raquel Heredia
Raquel Heredia
Raquel Heredia, “La Repompa,” is originally from El Barrio de la Trinidad, Málaga. A daughter of Rafaela Reyes and guitarist Luis Heredia, she and her sister Amparo Heredia represent a long line of “Repompas y Repompillas de Málaga,” starting with their great-aunt, Enriqueta de la Santísima Trinidad de Los Reyes Porra, the first Repompa.
Heredia spent her adolescence in the United States, where she made her debut in the New York tablaos at an early age. At 18, she toured with Juan Andrés Maya and then settled in Madrid to work in the tablaos of the capital city. A self-taught dancer, Heredia has performed in theaters and flamenco festivals around the world, and has worked with artists such as Antonio Canales, El Farru, Antonio Molina, El Choro and Pepe Torres. She is a guest artist in tablaos such as El Cordobés, La Casa del Arte and Jardines de Zoraya. Heredia is considered one of the greatest dancers of the current tablao scene.
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Jose Cortes
Guest guitarist
Artist Bio
Jose Cortes
Jose Cortes
Jose Cortes “Pansequito hijo” comes from a legendary flamenco dynasty and is the son of late, great flamenco singer José Cortés “Pansequito del Puerto.” He is regarded as one of the foremost flamenco guitarists of today, with an international reputation. Cortes has worked alongside prominent artists such as Azúcar Moreno, Rafael, Lola Flores and Rocío Jurado. Beyond his performances, Jose Pansequito is a talented composer and producer, having created two notable musical theater pieces: El Sol de Los Gitanos and El Sueño de un Torero. His expertise, knowledge and generosity make him a highly sought-after flamenco guitarist for flamenco dance companies worldwide.
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Antonio Moya
Guest guitarist
Artist Bio
Antonio Moya
Antonio Moya
Antonio Moya, a guitarist, or “tocaor” as he prefers to be called, is a young old hand whose date of birth situates him at the frontier of the changing of the guard from classic flamenco to contemporary. He’s chosen his team, and has no qualms about expressing his thoughts on the topic. He was born in France to a family of Andalusian immigrants. His wife is flamenco singer Mari Peña, and he’s been living in Utrera for many years. Moya is also artistically connected to Lebrija and Morón de la Frontera, and delivers some of the best guitar-playing of this area. The aroma of earth and olive trees is present in his playing, with a subtle modern patina. He has accompanied great stars of our time, and recorded with Bernarda de Utrera, Pepa de Benito, Gaspar de Utrera, Enrique Extremeño and Tomás de Perrate, among others.
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