Dancing Shoes: WeFlamenco Fest returns to San Antonio for 15th year

The WeFlamenco Fest is back for its 15th year, bringing performances of Southern Spain’s folkloric musical and dance tradition to the Alamo City through the month of November.

The festival celebrates the local flamenco community by highlighting groups and individuals who help keep the art form alive. Through performances, lectures and workshops, organizers also educate the public on flamenco’s long-standing history and rich cultural traditions.

Flamenco Fest, as it was originally called, was first conceived in 2010 as part of the 75th anniversary of the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department’s dance program, currently the oldest such program in the U.S.

What started as a weekend of performances at St. Paul Square’s Cameo Theatre, has evolved into a weeks-long celebration that’s included art exhibits, fashion shows, film screenings and even a street festival. Last year, Mayor Ron Nirenberg kicked off the festivities by declaring Nov. 16 the International Day of Flamenco in San Antonio during an event at Main Plaza.

In 2018, the festival honored dancers Teresa Champion and Carmen Linares. Champion is known for her appearance in the John Wayne film The Alamo and for helping introduce flamenco to San Antonio. For her part, Linares has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a dancer, choreographer, artistic director and teacher.

In 2022 the festival highlighted vocalist Chayito Champion’s production Circulo de Piedras. Featuring members of Champion’s family — San Antonio’s “first family of flamenco” — the production celebrated women artists and was viewed as a passing of the baton from one generation of artists to the next.

Romani roots

Although known as one of Spain’s greatest exports, flamenco is largely rooted in its non-Western influences. The Romani people, whom historians believe came from India during the 11th century and spread through Europe, played a key role in the development of the art form.

San Antonio restaurateur and head WeFlamenco organizer Paula Sullivan views the modern iteration of flamenco as a celebration and example of multiculturalism.

“I think that I have always been interested in how we as humans are connected. When language seems a barrier, we do have the ability to move past the discomfort and uncover the journey we share,” Sullivan, the owner of downtown tapas spot Carmen’s de la Calle, wrote in one year’s WeFlamenco program.

“In one moment of a performance, I am led to a shared emotion, a feeling that we are not so different, we are all surviving.”

Because Flamenco originated from an often-persecuted Romani people, it’s little wonder that modern artists gravitate to the genre to express reoccurring themes of survival, migration and transformation. The Austin-based group A’lante Flamenco explored those ideas when it brought Dezplazados, a politically charged flamenco dance production centering on immigration and displacement, to the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in 2015.

“How do you retain your roots? How do you stay in touch with your roots? How do you form a community? These are all topics that flamenco still addresses as well as the universal ones; things like love and death, and things that everyone can relate to,” A’lante Artistic Director Olivia Chacon told the Current at the time.

As the United States attempts to move past one of the most bitter and divisive presidential elections in modern history this November, WeFlamenco offers an opportunity to find solace in the healing and restorative nature of the art form’s invigorating music and dance.

This year’s festival will include the following highlight performances:

FlamencoOlé 2024

Parks and Recreation’s dance department will present FlamencoOlé on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Carver Community Cultural Center’s Jo Long Theatre. The department, founded by dance instructor Berta Almaguer in 1934, has played a vital role in shaping the city’s cultural landscape through its regular performances at the Arneson River Theatre at La Villita. The group has also been an integral part of the WeFlamenco lineup, having performed annually since its inception. Last year, when the production was held outdoors, even strong likelihood of rain didn’t prevent it from drawing a packed house.

For this year’s festival, Parks and Rec has recruited soloist Jackie Rodriguez-Navar and Genevieve Obregon. Rodriguez-Navar, who goes by the stage name “La Morena” established herself as a dancer in the early 2000s, consistently selling out Sullivan’s Carmen’s de la Calle.

“When you see people in the audience crying or filled with emotion or joy, it just fills you with joy,” Rodriguez-Navar told the Current in 2021. Free, 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, Jo Long Theatre at the Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N Hackberry St., (210) 207-0035, thecarver.org.

Adventure Stories

Dancer and choreographer Tamara Adira’s Arte y Pasión will present Adventure Stories on Monday, Nov. 18, at the Carver. The production is inspired by the dancer’s recent trek around the globe searching for joy, love and life’s answers.

Since making her San Antonio debut in 2009, Adira has organized some 30 productions and made significant contributions to the local scene. For the past several months, she’s been living in the Spanish city of Seville, where she continues to build her craft. Adventure Stories will feature guitarist Jose Manuel Tejeda and vocalist Celia Corrales along with surprise guests from Spain. $36, 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, Jo Long Theatre at the Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N Hackberry St., (210) 207-0035, thecarver.org.

Tablao Night at Raices de Arte Espanol

Dance studio Raices de Arte Espanol will open its doors Friday, Nov. 22, for a performance featuring Austin-based dancer Bianca Rodriguez, who’s currently on tour via Flamenco Vivo’s. Rodriguez, a licensed massage therapist, credits pilates and yoga for her longevity as a dancer. Dancers Drea Pacot and Raices instructor Genevieve Obregón also will perform, and guitarist Jose Manuel Tejeda and cantaora Celia Corrales will provide accompaniment. $29.56-$39.76, 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, Raices de Arte Espanol, 1722 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 875-3066, raicesflamenco.com.

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This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2024.