The Diplomat
The Spanish Embassy in Angola organized several activities, around the National Holiday of October 12, to publicize flamenco art in that country and promote a cultural exchange with local artists.
In mid-October, the flamenco group Raúl Corredor landed in Luanda, led by this experienced guitarist from Murcia along with the singer David Bastidas; the percussionist Kike Terrón and the dancer Asunción Pérez “La Choni”.
The group presented three shows in Luanda, the first of them, a concert, during the reception that the Spanish ambassador, Manuel María Lejarreta, offered to commemorate the National Holiday and which was attended by almost half a thousand people, including about 200 Spaniards residing in the country and official authorities and institutions.
In his speech on October 12, Ambassador Lejarreta recalled that flamenco was recognized in 2010 by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
On the other hand, the Casa de las Artes performance hall, one of the best auditoriums in the African capital, presented for the first time a flamenco performance, with the staging of Raúl Corredor’s quartet, before about 200 people who filled the capacity. and they gave a big round of applause to the Spanish group.
Finally, in an innovative bet, the flamenco group and the Angolan Contemporary Dance Company, artistically directed by Ana Clara Guerra Marques, jointly presented a show in one of the most emblematic and historical places in the city, the esplanade of the Antonio Memorial. Agostinho Neto where the mortal remains of the Father of the Nation and first president of Angola rest. There on October 21 at dusk, coinciding with sunset, the artistic fusion show “Dialogues in Motion” was presented in the open air before a heterogeneous audience in which the artistic and cultural sector of the Angolan capital predominated.
The local press and social networks praised this performance in which, together with Raúl Corredor’s quartet, sixteen dancers from the Angola Contemporary Dance Company, some of them Cubans, offered an innovative show, prepared with intense work. of daily rehearsals in a very short space of time, and in which they managed to fuse the essence of flamenco with local African and modern dance elements.
During the eleven days that the flamenco group remained in Luanda, within the framework of this exercise of cultural diplomacy, the public television TPA and the well-known Luanda radio station Antena Comercial interviewed the Spanish group. The performance “Dialogues in Motion” was recorded by a professional team and will serve as material to continue promoting flamenco art in the country.
According to sources from the Spanish Embassy, given the good reception that this initiative has had in Angola, it is very possible that it will become a basis for greater cooperation and cultural and artistic exchange between Angola and Spain.
The financing of these cultural diplomacy activities has been possible thanks to the budget assigned by the Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations of the AECID; the contribution of some Spanish companies based in Angola and the collaboration with local entities that assumed part of the costs.
