Festival Flamenco will return to Albuquerque this summer for its 34th annual event.

The festival, hosted by the National Institute of Flamenco and the University of New Mexico, will take place July 13 to 17. It will be shorter and smaller in scope compared to previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This will be the first Festival where there is hybrid online and in-person programming,” Annie D'Orazio, operations director for the National Institute of Flamenco, told the New Mexico Sun. 

Pictured is performer Mayte Martín. | Submitted

“We look forward to being able to gather our communities safely together to enjoy the art of flamenco.”

Festival Flamenco Albuquerque is the oldest and largest flamenco event outside of Spain which is where it originated. It incorporates influences from many cultures including Roma, Arabic, African and the Americas.

“Flamenco is music - it involves cante (signing), toque (guitar), baile (dance), palmas (hand percussion), and often cajón (box drum percussion),” D'Orazio said. “It’s an art form that is particularly embraced here. Many people of the Spanish diaspora in New Mexico feel a deep kinship with it.”

The festival was founded by Eva Encinias whose family studied, taught and performed flamenco for their entire lives.

“Eva Encinias wanted people in her home, Albuquerque, to be able to see the best flamenco artists in the world without needing to travel to Spain,” D'Orazio said. “She also wanted her students to have referents besides herself when learning flamenco.”

The upcoming Festival Flamenco will include 20 music and dance workshops geared toward participants of all ages and experience levels.

The festival typically features over 30 workshops addressing flamenco history, dance, music and the art form. The classes are available to students of all ages and backgrounds.

New Mexico is known as the flamenco center of the United States.