Flocks of Fans Await Flamenco Festival's Return

The international Flamenco Festival is coming to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in mid-March. A fan favorite in Miami, the event packed audiences for 13 years before COVID-19 stopped the world. Festival founder Miguel Marin is overjoyed to be back.

“The connection (between) the public and the artist in Miami is very strong. It’s a cultural connection. The intensity of the feeling is very strong,” he asserted. “I love coming to Miami to see it here because of the joy in the audience ... Sometimes it’s even greater than in Spain.”

Irene Lozano, one of the festival’s headliners, agrees. She was recently awarded the “Premio Desplante” at the Festival Internacional de Minas in Spain, one of the most prestigious flamenco awards in the world.

“What I love about Miami is that there are many Latinos, and for them culture is very important … they see flamenco as something special and have much respect for Spanish culture,” Lozano said. “I couldn’t be happier to participate in this festival.”

Lozano will take the stage March 16 in the Peacock Foundation Studio at the Ziff Ballet Opera House.

The festival’s centerpiece is three days of performances by acclaimed dancer and choreographer Sara Baras, who will present her newest show, “Alma.” Like many current stars of the genre, Baras combines technique with modern touches, brilliant footwork, lavish costumes, a talented ensemble of backup dancers and live music performed on stage. She’ll wow audiences with her tribute to the bolero March 17-19 in the Knight Concert Hall.

The festival closes outdoors under the stars on March 20 on the Thomson Plaza for the Arts with Rafael Riqueni, one of the greatest flamenco guitarists of our time. His 2017 album, “Parque de María Luisa,” is considered a masterpiece among critics and he was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2021 for his album “Herencia.”

Marin launched Flamenco Festival in New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C., in 2001. He has since presented more than 140 dance companies in 112 cities around the globe before audiences totaling more than 1.6 million people.

Locally, shows began at what was then the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach in 2005, and then “as soon as the Arsht opened, it has been the engine that brought all flamenco artists to Miami,” Marin said.

The festival is now an annual anchor program at the Arsht, Carnegie Hall, Boston Opera House and Sydney Opera House, among many other major venues.

“I wanted to create an impact so people could see the wide variety of flamenco that exists … people had misconceptions, they put it in a box … I wanted to show a wide range of expression,” said Marin.

He believes the perception of flamenco in the states has evolved significantly with exposure to a wide variety of artists – some traditional, some contemporary and some avant-garde. The genre also has advanced together with its audience because it’s been taken out of small clubs and placed on grand stages, allowing for the elevated production value that artists like Baras have developed.

Yet despite the flash of today’s performances, Marin says people come in search of truth more than they do special effects, and young flamenco artists are delivering by telling personal stories with authenticity.

Lozano, also known as “La Chiqui de Málaga,” will be telling a story of her own through her new show “Las mujeres que habitan en mi,” which translates to “The women who live inside of me.” It’s not a tale of the women who have inspired her, but of all she has and has not lived.

“In every career there are many sacrifices. I wasn’t the child who could go out and play or go out and party with my friends. I couldn’t be the youth who traveled or had a boyfriend – the normal life of an adolescent – because every hour was dedicated to my career. This will all form a part of my performance,” she said.

Lozano is now a wife and mother with a dance school in Little Havana serving about 80 students. She also teaches in other schools around town and performs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at Cava Tablao, a flamenco restaurant located at 3850 SW 8th St. in Coral Gables. But with all of the attention she’s been getting after receiving the “Premio Desplante,” she may not always be this accessible to local audiences, although right now Lozano believes she couldn’t be in a better place.

“There are artists of all kinds in Miami, and for me there is no greater artistic city in the U.S. than Miami,” she said.

As for the future of the festival, Marin says there are no limits.

“It will continue to be richer, bringing more surprises every year,” he said.

Tickets to Flamenco Festival Miami range from $25-$160 and are available at ArshtCenter.org.