World-reknowned flamenco player Paco Peña combines song guitar and dance in his nine-person performance.
Guitar virtuoso Paco Peña breathes life into an ancient Andalusian art form.
From his early childhood in Córdoba strumming alongside his older brother to receiving the Oficial de la Cruz de la Orden del Merito Civil bestowed upon him by King Juan Carlos of Spain Paco Peña has proven himself to be a true ambassador of Andalusian culture. Having practised the passion and precision of flamenco music for over 50 years the 68-year-old guitar virtuoso shows no signs of slowing down. In fact Peña’s creativity and desire to develop his repertoire continues to be a motivating factor in his daily life precipitating a myriad of opportunities for the maestro to display his considerable talents while imparting his wisdom to a new generation of artists.
“When I do a show I always have a basic idea that I’d like to project” Peña says of his philosophy of blending education and entertainment. “In this case I’m focusing on the fact that flamenco music is not written down but rather it lives in Andalusia. In our tradition there is a constant awareness of other cultural activities and with this comes a natural sense of adaptability which stems from our craving to be moving forward as a people. I do all I can to remain up-to-date as an artist — working with young and ambitious performers allows me to do this as I maintain the living traditions of flamenco today. This push to go forward into new areas is why we call our show Vivo Flamenco.”
Renowned for his awe-inspiring skill as a soloist Peña has performed in venues from London’s Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall in New York dazzling audiences with his resplendent flourishes and nimble-fingered seductions. The founder of the Centro Flamenco in Córdoba and artistic director of the Córdoba International Guitar Festival Peña constructed a post-secondary curriculum around his work becoming the world’s first professor of flamenco guitar in 1985 at the Rotterdam Conservatory. Expanding his art form into the realm of music-theatre the professor has spent the past 40 years handpicking dancers under the auspices of The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company. According to the maestro dance is one essential part of the triumvirate of fine arts that comprises the elemental foundations of flamenco.
“There will be nine of us onstage” Peña explains of his upcoming performance with his critically acclaimed ensemble. “Two singers [one male and one female] a drummer and two guitarists along with myself. And there will also be three dancers [two female and one male]. Fundamentally flamenco is built on an ancient foundation of singing to which guitar was eventually joined. These two disciplines inform the third aspect which is expressed with movement of the body. The communication between these three elements — song guitar and dance — is absolutely essential to flamenco.”
As an accomplished musician composer dramatist and instructor Peña offers his apprentices a unique yet authoritative perspective on the world of flamenco. Balancing order and emotion within the archetypal Spanish art Peña never fails to survey the outlying boundaries of tradition while maintaining close ties to the origins of his discipline. Cross-pollinating his authentic Spanish style with a wide range of musical influences from around the world such as blues jazz folk country classical and most recently South American rhythms and melodies Peña continues to challenge himself — and his audiences — to reframe what is already known about flamenco.
“Flamenco’s present connection with Latin American music is well documented. In addition to providing an overview of our historic origins Vivo Flamenco features a couple of numbers that point out the percussive elements that tie our traditions together” Peña says of his latest foray into international waters. “The rhythmic complexities are completely inspiring and combined with the cadence the two elements encompass the elaborate patterns that we strive to highlight within the wide spectrum of our compositions. Of course flamenco is quite strict but the complexities are exciting. Even if you don’t get the detail you will see how the singers dancers and musicians all connect and understand each other on the stage.”
“I’m not interested in being modern but I like really developing and learning” Peña says. “It is inevitable that I respond to these things. What I play and what I say is what I feel. I believe in the value of flamenco because it enriches my mind and reveals a whole range of possibilities. I swim in that.”
