Paco de Lucía Legacy Festival
February 20th – 24th
Paco de Lucía was one of history’s greatest guitarists. According to Carlos Santana, de Lucía was a musical genius who transcended genres at the level of Albert Einstein, Bob Marley, and Michael Jackson.
The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is proud to collaborate with the Paco de Lucía Legacy Festival to honor this legendary artist and commemorate the 10th anniversary of Paco de Lucía’s passing.
From Feb 20th to Feb 24th, experience the best of contemporary flamenco: concerts, workshops, screenings, masterclasses, talks, and more with top-notch musicians and dancers across New York City.
OPENING NIGHT CONCERT
@ STERN AUDITORIUM / PERELMAN STAGE AT CARNEGIE HALL
February 20, 2024
7:30 pm
881 7th Ave, New York
February 20, the Paco de Lucia Legacy Festival’s world premiere open at Carnegie Hall with a star-studded gala featuring 33 artists who will join together to celebrate Paco de Lucía.
It will be a journey through the Maestro’s work, reinvented and adapted by great figures: both flamenco artists who have shared the stage with him; artists of new generations who are heirs to his legacy; and international creators who have been sources of inspiration. Paco de Lucia’s constant desire for innovation will be crowned in this event, bringing together the best of each world in an unforgettable evening, in an ideal setting for duende and creation. Paco’s music will be brought to life by Al Di Meola, Ruben Blades, Salif Keita, Diego el Cigala, Jose Mercé, Farruquito, Carmen Linares, Silvia Pérez Cruz and the musicians of his two sextets, among many others, who will make up the line-up of artists gathered for this great fiesta.
ARTISTS
AL DI MEOLA / ALAIN PÉREZ / ANTONIO REY / ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ / ANTONIO SERRANO / ANTONIO SERRANO / CARLES BENAVENT / CARMEN LINARES / CHANO DOMÍNGUEZ / CONCHI HEREDIA / DANI DE MORÓN / DIEGO “EL CIGALA” / DUQUENDE / FARRU / FARRUQUITO / ISRAEL SUÁREZ “PIRAÑA” / JOSÉ MARÍA BANDERA / JOSÉ MARÍA BANDERA / JAVIER COLINA / JORGE PARDO / JOSÉ MERCÉ / JOSEMI CARMONA / KARIME AMAYA / MADOU DIABATE / MAKARINES / NESRINE / NIÑO JOSELE / PEPE HABICHUELA / RAFEL RIQUENI / RUBEM DANTAS / RUBEN BLADES / SALIF KEITA / SILVIA PEREZ CRUZ / TINO DI GERALDO / YERAI CORTÉS
PACO DE LUCÍA BIOGRAPHY PRESENTATION & CONCERT
@ INSTITUTO CERVANTES NYC
February 21, 2024
6:00 PM
211-215 E 49th St, New York
The Instituto Cervantes will host the presentation of César Suárez’s book “El enigma Paco de Lucía.” The author will talk about “the most personal and original biography of one of the greatest geniuses of Spanish music of all time”.
There will also be a concert called “Masters vs. Young Promises”.
In this event, acclaimed artists Antonio Serrano, Antonio Sánchez and Javier Valdunciel will be accompanied by the scholarship students from the Master’s Degree in Flamenco Performance at the Centro Superior Música Creativa in Madrid, who will be personally tutored by them. Together, they will demonstrate the talent that the new generations bring and their importance in the constant development and growth of flamenco.
ARTURO O’FARRILL & THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTA
@ SYMPHONY SPACE
February 21, 2024
7:00 PM
Upper Level, 2537 Broadway, New York
Multi-Grammy winner Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra perform at Symphony Space, paying tribute to Paco de Lucía.
The Symphony Space show is a co-presentation of Belongó (formerly the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance) and festival presenter Serious Fan Music.
The repertoire is a a unique evening with compositions by the late Paco de Lucía, under the joint musical direction of Arturo O’Farrill and the Valencian pianist and arranger Alex Conde. O’Farril and Conde are accompanied by very special guest artists such as the Grammy Latino Flamenco-winning guitarist Antonio Rey, harmonica player Antonio Serrano, flamenco cantaora Chonchi Heredia, bailaora Karime Amaya, and Brazilian percussionist Rubem Dantas.
FLAMENCO AND JAZZ CONCERT
@ LE POISSON ROUGE
February 21, 2024
8:00 PM
158 Bleecker St, New York
The program features the musical pairing of flamenco and jazz, considered by flamenco artists to be a musical genre in its own right, called flamenco-jazz.
First set
Josemi Carmona and Javier Colina are two masters of fusion. Carmona have worked with Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Pepe Habichuela, Nittin Sahwney, Djavan, Chick Corea, Diego el Cigala, Enrique Morente, Ruben Rada, Michel Camilo, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito de Rivera, Giovanni Hidalgo, Estrella Morente and Jorge Drexler.
They present De Cerca, the title they have chosen for the live performance they propose is a clear declaration of intent, as the best way of performing music and establishing a relationship with the listener. The repertoire is a collaborative interpretation of flamenco classics, jazz and popular music of Latin American.
The group features Israel Suarez “El Piraña”, considered one of the best flamenco percussionist; Silvia Pérez Cruz, a respected voices in Spanish music, in which flamenco plays an important role; and the legendary flamenco guitarist of Pepe Habichuela.
Second set
Diez de Paco was one of the pioneering records in flamenco-jazz. Chano Domínguez, Jorge Pardo, Javier Colina and Tino di Geraldo have been able to continue on the path taken by Paco, pushing the boundaries of flamenco and demonstrating that it is possible to create a fusion of music without forcing it. The show will have the special collaboration of Farru, a bailaor who was part of Paco’s sextet and member of one of the most important flamenco dance sagas: Los Farrucos.
MASTERCLASS
@ KJCC-NYU
February 22, 2024
12:00 PM
53 Washington Square S, New York
KJCC-NYU invites you to participate in a Flamenco Masterclass with fantastic cajón [percussionist] ISRAEL ‘PIRAÑA’ SUAREZ.
Israel Suarez “Piraña” is considered a vital reference for percussionists and one of the most accomplished cajón musicians; Piraña toured with the late Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía’s band for more than ten years. Piraña is considered one of the greatest cajón players ever and an essential reference for percussionists worldwide. He has played with artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Ricky Martin, Chick Corea, Paquito D’Rivera, and Wynton Marsalis. One of the main contributors and lead actors in the evolution of the cajón, Piraña has adapted the instrument to genres outside of Flamenco, raised its musical standard, and further developed the cajón technique.
The palmas [handclaps] and canté [vocalists) of the Makarines brothers complete this masterclass. Makarines are the most requested musicians on the flamenco scene, they are part of the tours of artists such as Rosalía, Miguel Poveda and Los Farrucos.
The event is free and open to the public, NYU students, and faculty interested in flamenco.
FLAMENCO SUMMIT MEETS NEW YORK
@ THE TOWN HALL
February 22, 2024
7:30 PM
123 W 43rd St, New York
A flamenco summit at the Town Hall is a historic gathering bringing together the most outstanding figures of Flamenco, Jazz, Latin, and African music, and a Paco de Lucía legacy propagated to the new generation of flamenco guitarists, showcasing creations, improvisation, and remarkable musical encounters in New York City; Niño Josele – Ruben Blades, Josemi Carmona – Salif Keita, Antonio Rey – Richard Bona, Pepe Habichuela and more.
Flamenco dance is represented by bailaores like the unmistakable Farruquito, Farru, the bailaor who accompanied Paco de Lucia on his last tour, and Karime Amaya, a descendant of the great Carmen Amaya, adds quality to the night.
Alain Pérez, former Lucía’s bassist, now has six studio albums and two Latin Grammy nominations. Rafael Riqueni and his distinguished guitar touch; Antonio Sánchez, who continues with Lucía’s saga; and singer Silvia Pérez Cruz, bringing Leonard Cohen’s “Take This Waltz” by Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Pequeño Vals Vienes.”
The concert connects musical genres and celebrates the cultural richness that defines New York—a performance transcending musical barriers, demonstrating once more that flamenco is a cross-cultural overcome.
The Town Hall will become a melting pot of sounds, a harmonious dialogue between different musical traditions presented by Serious Fan Music.
PURE FLAMENCO CONCERT
@ CERVANTES INSTITUTE
February 23, 2024
7:00 PM
211-215 E 49th St, New York
The concert “Puro Flamenco” brings together three essential figures of the purest flamenco in an unprecedented encounter. Pepe Habichuela, Rafael Riqueni and Carmen Linares offer a repertoire of the best in their careers, with a surprising grand finale.
ARTISTS
PEPE HABICHUELA / RAFAEL RIQUENI / CARMEN LINARES
FLAMENCO PARTY
@ LITTLE SPAIN
February 23, 2024
7:30 PM
10 Hudson Yards, New York
A full-fledged flamenco party that will bring together the vast majority of artists participating in the Legacy Festival, generating the most anticipated flamenco Jam Session of the festival. With no set list or script, the musicians will take the stage to share improvised and unrepeatable moments with the audience.
Free admission. Limited seats.
PACO DE LUCÍA: A JOURNEY
@ QUAD CINEMA
February 24, 2024
4:00 PM
34 W 13th St, New York
The screening of Curro Sanchez’s documentary “La Búsqueda” awarded with the 2015 Goya for best documentary, is presented at the Quad Cinemas in NY with the collaboration of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute and at the end will offer a talk with its director and some artists who were close to the Maestro during his career.
