Folkloric, Andalucían music featured at Nov. 11 concert
It’s marked by a fast-paced beat created with a Spanish guitar. Often a flute player joins in. And a singer tells a story.
Then a dancer steps in — a woman with a flowing red dress spins elegantly, and occasionally claps her hands to the beat.
This is the music of the flamenco guitar; which originated in a southern part of Spain called Andalucía.
And Juan Martin, a virtuoso of the flamenco guitar, will perform in Calgary on Nov. 11.
Originally from Spain, Martin has toured internationally. He last performed in Calgary in 2007.
Juan Martin is set to impress Nov. 11 with his flamenco music. Photo: Nick WhiteFlamenco guitar isn’t the most popular genre of music in Calgary but there is still a growing interest within the city. Peter Knight, a flamenco guitar teacher in Calgary, is producing the concert alongside Vic Close of Fish Creek Concerts.
“There are several teachers now in the city who teach flamenco guitar — you know, flamenco guitar, flamenco dance, and flamenco in general is growing quite a bit in the city,” Knight says.
“It’s been around for a while. It’s not as visible as pop music, blues, rock and all that kind of stuff, but it’s here. There’s pockets of it in the city,” he says.
Martin has also written several books on flamenco guitar.
Sebastian Barnowski has been playing flamenco guitar for two years. He calls Martin one of the first to make a comprehensible flamenco book for non-Spanish players.
David Matyas, who has been into the flamenco scene for about 10 years, thinks Martin brings parts of Andalucía’s culture to North America through music.
“Martin is a player who educates audiences outside of Spain. His playing seems to me as being very tied to flamenco guitar and it’s also very tied to folkloric elements of Andalucía – which makes it interesting for North American audiences because often they don’t really get exposed to that,” Matyas says.
The concert featuring Martin takes place Nov. 11 at the River Park Church, located at 3818 14A St S.W.
For more information or tickets call 403-263-0079 or visit pumphousetheatres.ca