A Compás Flamenco, the Spanish dancers María Juncal and Alfonso Losa, and Joaquín San Juan, director of the Flamenco and Spanish Dance Art Center Amor de Dios were the protagonists of the Terraza España space organized by the Cultural Council of the Embassy of Spain in Cuba as part of the Second Intercontinental Flamenco Encounter in Havana, which takes place in this city between November 5 and 10.
A Compás Flamenco - which receives the collaboration of the Embassy of Spain through its Call for Aid 2018 - «is a sociocultural and artistic project that aims to train children from families with low economic resources and social problems through the flamenco dance. It is a project created and directed by Karelia Cadavid in the neighborhood of Los Sitios of Havana, which contributes to social cohesion and socio-cultural development of the area and nearby municipalities. It is totally non-profit and serves children from 3 years old. It is a non-academic project, but it is traditional ».
María, Alfonso and Joaquín, during the days of the meeting, have taught classes in body technique, arm technique, foot technique and choreography. They have also done dance shows and given a seminar on History of Flamenco, as well as dance and history gatherings.
«The night goes of thanks -said Joaquin San Juan- because the week we have here is a magical week, a week of emotions, a week of reunions of groups of people who are in flamenco, in the Spanish dances, distributed all over the world, in this case Havana, and that is that we are one family. We can spend a year without seeing each other, but we are always in the same sense. Thanks to the Embassy of Spain in Havana for hosting a heterodoxy of the country, which we are the flamencos. At the same time that we are flamencos we are Spaniards and we love our country like any other neighbor, and it gives us great joy to see people delivered, committed to all the things that Spain can beneficially contribute ».
María Juncal and Alfonso Losa wanted Arte por Excelencias to ask them exclusively why Cuba in the effort to promote flamenco dance outside the Spanish peninsula. Here are your answers:
María: «I have a long-standing relationship with Cuba through the A Compás Flamenco project, which shows that this is the place where culture is loved, cared for, esteemed. Dance is a precious good in Havana. There is a cultural predisposition towards everything that has to do with the fine arts, and that interests me a lot, because I somehow surpassed it when I arrived here. "
Alfonso: "Cuba is a special place where the dance, the rhythm, even the character of flamenco is impregnated in the DNA of the people. It is a very special, unique place for the development of flamenco. You enter a class, for example, and you see, ten minutes later, how people are placed, physical fitness, and it's already flamenco. For us, it is like a dream to have a followed presence in Cuba. "
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