For over three decades, GALA (Grupo de Artistas Latinoamericanos) Hispanic Theatre has showcased a wide array of performance art across disciplines in an effort to raise awareness of the diversity and richness of Hispanic culture. As result, the organization has gained international acclaim as the country’s leading Spanish-language theater.
Led by founders Hugo and Rebecca Medrano, GALA has received numerous artistic excellence and service awards for both for its work in promoting and creating art that engages and resonates with diverse audiences as well as for its efforts to preserve and promote Hispanic culture and heritage. In 2008, the Medranos were awarded the Order of Queen Isabella II by the King of Spain, in recognition of their promotion of Spanish culture in the United States.
VelocityDC recently caught up with Hugo Medrano, GALA’s co-founder and Artistic Director, to discuss the organization’s mission and the 5th Annual Fuego Flamenco Festival.
vDC: GALA Hispanic Theatre is known for showcasing traditional and contemporary Latino performance art from a diverse range disciplines, including dance and theater. What can you tell us about the company’s underlying artistic philosophy?
We believe in the delivery of high quality, culturally authentic work that speaks to the diversity of Hispanic traditions and explores new visions and expressions of Latino performing arts in Spanish and English. In addition, we are also deeply committed to producing and presenting works that create a relationship with the audience that is intimate, immediate and relevant.
vDC: How does this philosophy come into play during the Fuego Flamenco Festival?
The annual Fuego Flamenco Festival explores the diversity and profound amalgam of other cultures that have influenced the passionate and time-honored Spanish art form of flamenco. From its Moorish and gypsy influences to the contemporary rhythms derived from art forms of the Americas like jazz and tango, flamenco contains and transmits the powerful voices of many races.
I love Spain’s flamenco tablaos, the real ones, those of Seville and some of Madrid. It is the intimacy, I believe, that mesmerizes me. The atmosphere is almost ritual and celebratory of the place and the symbiosis that occurs between the artist and the audience. That’s what we are creating at GALA with Fuego Flamenco; it is an encounter of lovers of flamenco with its artists. GALA’s space, which is smaller and more intimate than the usual setting for this type of event, permits that vibration, that communication between the performers on the stage and the members of the audience.
vDC: Speaking of Spanish tablaos, give us some insight into your presenting partnership with the Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas from Madrid.
Our partnership with the Casa Patas Foundation fits perfectly with our belief in building collaborations and associations to broaden and deepen our engagement with new artists, different cultures and the community. Casa Patas is a world-renowned Madrid tablao, hosting some of the best and most authentic flamenco in Spain. The Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas grew out of this club and today sponsors workshops, seminars, and exhibitions promoting the art of flamenco.
As a result, famous groups and new talent sometimes share the same stage of Casa Patas to create memorable productions. For example, Isabel López, bailaora and choreographer of November 20th’s Flamenco desde Abajo, is a regular attraction at the famous tablao Los Gallos de Sevilla and whenever she decides to dance in Madrid, she does it only in Casa Patas.
vDC: So what can we expect to see at this year’s Fuego Flamenco Festival?
For the next three weeks, we will present artists from Spain and the DC-Baltimore region whose works reflect the latest trends of classical and contemporary flamenco. The first weekend runs from November 20th until November 22nd and showcases Casa Patas’ Isabel López and a fabulous company that includes her dance partner, Felipe Mato, and a group of exquisite musicians and singers. I am sure people will be happy to know that beloved cantaor Francisco Luis Trinidad Angel (“El Trini de la isla”) is returning and this will be his third visit to DC.
By popular demand, we are also bringing back Diego Villegas, a talented young Andalucian saxophonist and flutist from Cádiz. Diego and guitarist and musical director José Luis Silva (“El Morito”) will provide the musical accompaniment. This year we are also proud to introduce cantaora Sara Salado, one of the best Spanish saeteras. The saeta is a flamenco song sung on religious occasions to exalt devotion and penance; it is a beautiful lament and requires a very particular quality of voice to be sung. It is rarely performed for this reason.
Beginning the weekend of November 28th, we have Flamenco en familia, a program that is really dear to me since it is aimed at children and their families. It introduces the kids to the world of flamenco through interactive workshops on basic flamenco footsteps, castanets, and palm technique. Baltimore-based Natalia Monteleón and her company, ArteFlamenco, will lead these lively sessions.
The festival wraps up on December 5th and 6th when we present the world premiere of Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company’s Flamenco Deconstructed. The work was choreographed and directed by our own Edwin Aparicio, a brilliant bailaor of international lineage that has cultivated a horde of fans in the area. The show features Omayra Amaya, a powerful bailaora of gypsy blood and grandniece of Carmen Amaya, arguably the greatest flamenco dancer ever.
vDC: Given that the festival has been running for the past five years, has each iteration evolved over time? If so, how?
Given the characteristics of our festival, which are those of exploration of traditional forms and innovation in contemporary flamenco, its artistic evolution is intrinsic, since each year we present new artists with a different approach. What is notable, however, is the evolution of our audience. We started with a loyal pack of flamenco fans, but every year more people come out of curiosity including a surprising number of young people interested in this Spanish art form. Today, we have a multicultural audience with an impressive percentage of young adults interested in both the musical and the dance components of flamenco.
vDC: Any last thoughts for those who might be interested in attending?
I think that the most important thing is to come with an open mind. If you don’t know much about flamenco, these presentations will make you understand where its passion comes from – how sorrow and happiness flow from the agile body of the bailaora or vibrate in the hoarse voice of the cantaores. For the experts, it will be a pleasure to see how the most pure cantejondo (deep song) or the high-spirited bulerías can be expressed and performed with a new breath. With Fuego Flamenco, we hope to catch the attention and the heart of a new generation of artists and audience.
Photo Credit: Isabel López
The 5th Annual Fuego Flamenco Festival will be held from November 20th, 2009 until December 6th, 2009.
Don’t miss your chance to see the best in world-class flamenco with Casa Patas’ Isabel López and DC’s Edwin Aparicio live at the historic Tivoli Theatre. Information and tickets are available NOW at galatheatre.org!
