Almería Flamenco and Dance Festival - 26 June to 20 July 2024
The Almería Flamenco and Dance Festival, is always one of the city’s most anticipated cultural events, take place each year in different locations at the end of June and beginning of July. This popular festival presents an extensive programme, with a total fifteen dance shows and flamenco recitals, along with workshops and courses.
2024 edition
The program of activities will kick off at the Antonio de Torres Guitar Museum with singer Ezequiel Benítez and guitarist Paco León on 26 June 26; followed by Sevillian singer Segundo Falcón accompanied by Manolo Franco on guitar on 29 June. Both recitals have free entry until capacity is reached.
The festival will include the 'Plazeando', a series of performances staged in the historic centre by some Almeria's finest flamenco talent, including dancer Suleima (27 June – Plaza Pablo Cazard), singer Marina Márquez (July 4 – Plaza Granero), and a group consisting of young up-and-coming local performers (July 11 – Plaza San Roque). All with free entry.
Other activities will be held in collaboration with the flamenco clubs (peñas). The Peña El Morato will present the young Almería dancer Inés de Inés (5 July), and a flamenco group from Granada led by Paco Fernández, who will present his latest show, Paco de Andrea (12 July).
On 6 July, the Teatro Apolo will host the first edition of the Jornada de Flamenco de Almeria. Organised by the Provincial Federation of Flamenco Clubs, the series will present coveted performers such as Pedro el Granaíno, one of the most orthodox singers of his generation; along with local artistes Cristo Heredia, Antonio García El Genial and Edu García.
The guitar museum will also host the IX Tomatito summer master course (15 to 17 July), which is run by José del Tomate (son of the world-renowned guitarist from which the course takes its name) and organised in collaboration with the University of Almería and the Peña El Taranto.
The final week of the festival will present 'Tres A Compás', six consecutive evenings in the Parque de la Hoya. This cycle begins with Estela Alonso, a soloist dancer with the National Ballet of Spain, of which she has been a member for nine years (15 July); and the winner of the Zapatillo de Plata 2023, Eduardo Guerrero (16 July).
Wednesday 17 July will present a show with a genuine Almerian touch, with two local names that stand out: veteran singer Alfonso Salmerón, and dancer Rocío Garrido, who was recognised with the award for best dancer at the Festival del Cante de las Minas de La Union in 2023.
The following night will present two undisputed maestros of the guitar - Pepe Habichuela and Niño Josele.
Charismatic Gypsy singers Aurora Vargas and Antonio Reyes will light up the stage on Friday 19 July; while the final instalment on Saturday will present pianist and singer Diego Amador, brother of Raimundo and Rafael Amador; and Lela Soto, from the clan of El Sordera, one of Jerez’s finest flamenco dynasties.
Tickets for these six nights can be obtained from www.almeriaculturaentradas.es and at the Teatro Apolo box office.
About the artistes
Ezequiel Benítez
The Gypsy singer was born into a large flamenco dynasty in the Santiago neighbourhood Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) in 1979. He made his first public appearance on stage at the age of 14 and has since performed all over Spain and Europe. He has also picked up numerous awards for his orthodox cante, including first prizes for best younger singer in the concurso de cante in Jerez (1997) and in Puerta Real (1998).
He was also a finalist in the Young Performers competition at the Seville Bienal in 2000. Inspired by singers such as Aguejetas Viejo, Tomás Pavón and Antonio Mairena, his singing is from a pure Jerez school, although he also excels in the alegrías de Cádiz and the fandangos de Málaga.
Manolo Franco
Celebrated for his complete mastery of the instrument and its technique, guitarist Manuel Franco Barón was born in Seville in 1960 and received his early instruction from the age of 12 from his uncle, Manolo Barón, and renowned teacher Antonio de Osuna. Making his debut on the Andalusian flamenco festival circuit at the age of 15 he continued his training at Matilde Coral's academy in Seville.
A prominent figure of the world of flamenco guitar, he has been described as “very musical and flamenco sensitivity”. As a concert performer, he has participated international festivals such as those in Madrid, Seville, Córdoba, France, Stockholm, Istanbul, Freiburg and Tokyo, among others.
Suleima - Bailaora
Although of humble origins and from a family outside the artistic flamenco world, Suleima developed her love of cante jondo from her maternal grandparents, both aficionados of the art. Starting to dance at the age of five at the Chelo Ruiz school, the Almería-born dancer stands out for her discipline, perseverance and a deep passion for flamenco dance.
She continued her training with renowned dancers such as Pastora Galván, Antonio Canales, El Farru, La Lupi and Juan de Juan.
Inés de Inés
Inés García Hernández is a flamenco dancer who performs under the stage name of Inés de Inés. Born in Huercal de Almería, she demonstrated a great skill and passion from a very early age. She does not descend from a family of flamenco performers, instead learning her art at the Almería Conservatory of Dance.
She has been focused on flamenco dancing since she was eight, and now at sixteen, she is one of the Almeria artists with the most projection for the future.
José del Tomate
José Fernández - José del Tomate was born in Almería in 1998 into a family of artists, which includes his father, Tomatito (who performed alongside Camarón de la Isla until his death in 1992), and his great-grandfather, Miguel Fernández Cortés El Tomate.
Although he has developed his own distinctive style, influences of Sabicas and Paco de Lucía are evident, but above all, the one who has had the greatest impact on him has been his uncle, El Niño Miguel. Hence, he grew up in a flamenco environment, so it was natural for him to follow in the family’s footsteps at the age of 13.
His career began during Seville’s Bienal de Flamenco in 2010, where he performed alongside his father, and he has since gone on to appear at most of the top summer festivals. Along with undertaking an extensive tour in the United States with his father’s sextet, performing in iconic venues such as the Lincoln Centre in New York and the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, the young guitarist has also performed in Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia.
Despite his youth, he is endowed with a sublime technique and a sense of rhythm that sets him apart, which he clearly inherited from his father.
Pepe Habichuela
José Antonio Carmona Carmona, or Pepe Habichuela as he is affectionately known, is a Gypsy guitarist that belongs to a dynasty whose patriarch was Habichuela el Viejo, Pepe’s great-grandfather. Together with his brothers, Juan Habichuela (1933-2016), Luis Habichuela (1947-1993) and Carlos Habichuela (1958), he was part of one of the Gypsy families with the greatest impact in the history of the flamenco guitar. All of the Carmonas stand out for their singing accompaniment, but Juan is probably the most well-known.
Born in Granada in 1944, his artistic career took off in Madrid, where he performed at many of the top flamenco tablaos with singers of the stature of Juanito Valderrama, Camarón de la Isla and Enrique Morente.
The saga is continued by Pepe’s son, José Miguel Carmona – Niño Josemi (1971), who, together with his cousins, José Carmona – El Camborio - and Antonio Carmona, made up the successful flamenco fusion group Ketama
Diego Amador
Known as the Gypsy Ray Charles, the pianist, singer and composer Diego Amador was born the Tres Mil Viviendas district in Seville in 1973. Brother of world-renowned guitarists Raimundo and Rafael Amador (founders of the group Pata Negra, famed in the ‘80s for their fusion of flamenco, rock and blues), Diego is known for his free and vigorous style of piano playing, which has made him one of the most outstanding musicians of the flamenco-jazz genre.
He began his career as a soloist with his first album Anticipo Flamenco, which presented a new opening for the piano in flamenco. His pioneering way of interpreting the piano as if it were a guitar has made him a much sought-after musician, performing with legendary figures like Chick Corea, Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny. Of late, he has been experimenting with salsa and Latin rhythms, which he melds perfectly with his traditional Gitano voice. With the release of his sixth album, Scherzo Flamenco, the international press referred to him as “one of the greatest flamenco pianists of all time”.
Pedro El Graniaino
Aurora Vargas
Antonio Reyes
