A festival of emotion
It has been quite a week at A Través, as we opened the Atlanta Flamenco Festival, and it is not possible to capture the excitement of the events in words. Photographs by Erik Voss help in many ways to share the pure emotion that wafted with the music, traveled on swirling dancing hands, and radiated in the warmth of two separate live music venues that graciously presented flamenco in a format that pushed the limits of the arts in Atlanta. We are grateful to the audiences that gathered to witness two new ideas in flamenco in Atlanta, including our festival and the creation by four very talented musicians: Jesús Herndandez, Alfonso Cid, Tim Ferguson, and Mark Holen.
On October 13 and 15, 2019, flamenco and jazz music fans filled the house at both Gallery 992 and Red Light Café, respectively, to hear the innovation of New Bojaira, a quartet that has created a new sound by using the rules of jazz to navigate the structure of flamenco. They seamlessly blended familiar sounds of both genres in a journey between Spain and the United States of America. Their fusion is so deep that at times it is difficult to decipher which leg is leading the musical body: the one standing in jazz or the one standing in flamenco, and the listener can only succumb to the pure joy of being swept away by music.
Several people who attended the concerts commented that they were impressed by the high level of composition and the sophistication of the music. It is no surprise, given the life-long pursuit of both flamenco and jazz by pianist Jesús Hernandez, who developed the concept for New Bojaira. Through a process of transcontinental networking, he found himself in the company of other musicians who share a deep and long-standing relationship of the two music styles, providing an informed base in which a successful fusion can brew. Much like any concoction that is given time, attention, and practice, this jazz-flamenco fusion took off into the souls of those around them, opening music lovers in Atlanta to see two separate music styles and the birth of a third new sound that reminds us of how the music we make is evolving with our very existence together.
The Atlanta Flamenco Festival continues through Nov. 2, 2019, with classes by Sandra Bara and Alejandro Navarro Ponce, as well as a concert by the flamenco company of María del Mar Moreno. Information is at http://www.atlantaflamencofestival.com.