(headline image: Rafaela Carrasco – photo by Jean-Louis Duzert)
Suma Flamenca de la Comunidad de Madrid ends its 20th edition with ten shows in the final week and five world premieres that bridge flamenco tradition and forward-looking ideas. Headliners include José Mercé, La Macanita, Manuel Liñán, Rafaela Carrasco, and Mayte Martín.
Manuel Liñán opens the run of premieres with Bailaor@ at Teatros del Canal on October 30. The Granada-born dancer, choreographer, and director frames the work as a statement of identity and artistic acceptance.
Andrea Salcedo, recognized as the first Mexican woman flamenco guitarist, debuts Serendipia at Centro Comarcal de Humanidades Sierra Norte de La Cabrera on October 31. The program features cante, electric bass, and percussion, and draws on cross-cultural roots and personal experience.
Juan Carmona, a founding member of Ketama, presents Flamenco Góspel at Centro Cultural Paco Rabal on October 31. The project sets a meeting point between gospel spirituality and flamenco forms.
Roberto Lorente mines early memories of a historic Madrid neighborhood in Barrio de la Alegría, staged at La Cabrera on November 1. The cantaor traces names, streets, and stories to build an origin tale in song.
José Maya returns to Teatros del Canal on November 1 with Lejano. The Madrid dancer and choreographer, who closed Suma Flamenca in 2022 with Color sin nombre, links ancestral echoes with imagined futures through cante and dance.
Beyond the premieres, five additional programs round out the week. José Mercé’s Flamenco por derecho (Teatros del Canal, October 28) focuses on deep-rooted palos such as malagueña, soleá, and seguiriyas, while revisiting highlights from a catalog that spans 19 albums since his 1968 debut.
A revived Alegro-Soleá, first unveiled by Enrique Morente and Antonio Robledo at the 1990 Bienal de Sevilla, reaches Teatros del Canal on October 29. The piece, recorded in 2024 on Nazarí after a 2022 rescue by Antonio “El Turry,” Juan Carlos Garvayo, and the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, now features the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid with cantaor, two pianos, string orchestra, cajón, and palmas.
Rafaela Carrasco, Spain’s 2023 National Dance Prize recipient, brings Creaviva to Teatros del Canal on October 31. The nine-part suite combines live cante and instruments with pre-recorded material, interweaving flamenco with Spanish folk rhythms and texts inspired by Greco-Roman muses.
La Macanita assembles hallmark cantes from Jerez in Oro molío at Centro Cultural Paco Rabal on November 1, tracing roots in the Santiago neighborhood.
Mayte Martín closes the festival at Teatros del Canal on November 2 with In illo tempore, a new show tied to a double album. The program surveys more than two decades since Querencia, balancing classical and innovative strands without diluting flamenco’s core.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central