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Find out who's coming to Festival Flamenco Alburquerque 38
Marisol Encinias has fond memories of sitting in her grandmother’s dance studio along with her brother, Joaquin, as she taught a community of dancers flamenco.
As the siblings grew up, her mother, Eva Encinias-Sandoval, planted the seeds of a flamenco festival in Albuquerque — one that would put the city on the map.
“I was a sophomore in high school when my mom started it,” Encinias says. “(Joaquin and I) would set up the floor. It was important to us. We were already dancers, but being part of something bigger changed our whole perspective on flamenco. The festival made a connection between us and the rest of the world. It changed the way we see the art form.”
Encinias is now the executive director of the festival and, along with the National Institute of Flamenco, the small festival that started nearly four decades ago is in its 38th iteration.
From Friday, June 20, through Saturday, June 28, the flamenco spotlight will be on the Duke City as Festival Flamenco Alburquerque 38 brings some of the best dancers from all over the world to town.
About a month ago, it seemed like the festival was in danger.
On May 2, NIF was notified that the National Endowment for the Arts was pulling a $70,000 grant that was earmarked for the organization.
The grant amounted to about 10% of the total cost of Festival Flamenco Alburquerque.
As soon as Encinias got the news, she had to initiate another plan.
“We had to spend some time coming up with other funding,” she says. “We’ve reached out to other people in other organizations who also had funding cut by the NEA.”
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With the help of Visit Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and other community partners, NIF was able to get funding to shore up the loss.
“We’re so fortunate because it would have been really bad for the festival,” she says. “I think right now, there’s been a lot of feeling with uncertainty that we could really use a really good art experience.”
During the time Encinias has been director of the festival, she’s been curating ideas and many of them are coming to fruition for this year’s festival.
“Several years ago, we began working with the Spanish government to get the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía to the festival,” she explains. “This is the flamenco dance company of Spain, which is located in Sevilla. It’s an important company that is 30-members deep, and we’re going to get them for two performances.”
In total, there will be 91 artists from Spain — which is the festival’s biggest year as far as the number of artists.
“We have our local artists from Yjastros: The American Flamenco Repertory Company taking part in the festival,” she says. “There will be 135 artists working the festival in some capacity either teaching, playing or performing.”
In addition to the feat of having Baile Flamenco de Andalucía, the festival will also host five Los Premios Nacionales de Danza recipients — Spain’s highest honor in dance.
“The festival is at a level we’ve never had before,” Encinias says. “This is the vision my mom had when she first started the festival.”
Festival Flamenco Alburquerque 38 will feature 19 performances — most of them U.S. premieres — at venues such as the National Hispanic Cultural Center, University of New Mexico’s Rodey Theatre, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and Tablao Flamenco Albuquerque.
The festival will also offer over 40 workshops with flamenco masters at UNM, providing participants of all levels with the opportunity to explore the rich traditions of flamenco dance, music and culture.
The initiative is called “La Luz de Liz” which is named for Elizabeth Alarid-West, who died in April.
“She was an incredible young dancer and got her degree at UNM in dance,” Encinias says. “Flamenco was important in her life. She was able to be involved in the arts and this is a way to honor her spirit within dance. It’s also a way to double down for the community to have more experiences because the arts do make a difference in people’s lives.”
Encinias says this year’s festival is a snippet of what can be accomplished when a community comes together.
“This is the biggest flamenco festival outside of Spain,” she says. “Each year, we are fortunate enough to give back to the community through such a passionate art form.”
