The Flamenco Flair

Maria Bermudez has a metaphor she likes to employ to describe flamenco – what for her has been a lifelong passion and something hard to describe.

“The beauty of flamenco is that it’s like a very big fan,” she said. “When you open a fan, it’s got all those ridges that are all equal. And that’s very much like the different facets that exist in flamenco. There’s classical flamenco dance, there’s modern flamenco, there’s fusion flamenco, and there’s gypsy flamenco, and all the variations and elements in between.”

Gypsy flamenco is a specialty for Bermudez, who grew up in Southern California but has roots in Jerez de la Frontera near Seville in Spain, where flamenco is a way of life, and where she has called home for more than 30 years.

“Gypsies are born into it,” she explained. “They grow up with it, and it’s an art form that is passed down from generation to generation. It’s not schooled, there’s no academies. Flamenco is something that they learn as soon as they come out into the world. It comes from a culture that had a lot of pain and struggle, and all they had to survive was their singing and their music. It’s easier now, but it still holds true to this day even as flamenco has become such a major export, being seen and heard on stages and in stadiums and opera houses everywhere.”

Bermudez is among those spreading the gospel of the art form – one who has been recognized by being named an official Flamenco Ambassador by her hometown of Jerez in 2022 – in recognition of her 30-plus-year career in performing and promoting flamenco. She splits her time between Spain and Santa Barbara, where she’s taught dancing since the late 1990s, taking over Linda Vega’s studio in 2020 and creating Flamenco! Santa Barbara, where she serves as artistic director.

Through Flamenco! Santa Barbara, Bermudez has organized “Sonidos Gitanos” (Gypsy Sounds), an evening that features nearly a dozen revered superstars of gypsy flamenco from Spain to perform in an intimate evening of passionate music and dance at the Lobero Theatre on Sunday, November 26, one night after the ensemble appears at Walt Disney Concert Hall under the auspices of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The showcase includes José Maya, Diego Amador, Diego Carrasco, Pelé De Los Reyes, Carmen Grilo, Curro Carrasco, Manuel Valencia, Ané Carrasco, Coral De Los Reyes, and Ana De Los Reyes.

Madrid-based flamenco dancer José Maya is an international superstar of the art form, one who has shared the stage with such pop stars such as Marc Anthony, Beyoncé, Björk, and Juan Luis Guerra as well as flamenco stars Antonio Canales, Juan Ramírez, and Farruquito, among others. Maya also performed in the Romani French filmmaker Tony Gatlif’s film Vertiges.

“He’s a phenomenal performer and you’ll see that right away,” Bermudez said. “He’s been on big stages all around the world, performed with all the masters of the flamenco industry. He’s also been on stage with the Rolling Stones because he’s just that dynamic.”

What’s surprising, though, is that, other than Bermudez herself, Maya is only one of the artists who is actually dancing. That’s not an accident.

“We’re very familiar here in Santa Barbara with dancing through Fiesta and all the studios,” Bermudez explained. “Dance is the most appealing because it is visually beautiful and lush, with all the glamorous dresses. But the music and the singing is the foundation to flamenco dance. So we are focusing on the music and the singing and how that inspires us to move. You can’t experience flamenco without the music. This is why the dancer dances so passionately and so beautifully because they are interpreting what they’re hearing, rather than it being choreographed.”

True to Bermudez’ mission, the show features both legends and several of the next generation of singers and musicians – including members of the same family and nearly all hailing from Jerez de la Frontera. To name just a few: Diego Carrasco is a legendary flamenco singer, composer, and guitarist, while his son Ané Carrasco is a flamenco percussionist. Diego Amador is a flamenco jazz multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer, known as “El ‘Ray Charles’ Gitano” for his piano technique, who has collaborated with flamenco’s biggest stars as well as jazz artists Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, and Chick Corea. Pelé De Los Reyes is a flamenco-fusion singer, composer, and founder (with fellow troupe member Curro Carrasco) of Navajita Plateá, who have been nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards.

“I wanted people to hear the music from across time,” Bermudez said. “Fusion is very organic. They’re still gypsies with a traditional foundation from Jerez, where the first sounds of flamenco were heard. There’s a certain dynamic to the rhythms, very specific to here, but everybody has their own take on it. Our dancer is spectacular, but the audience is going to get to see the musicians in their own element, not in the background.”