Marisol Encinias has been performing flamenco her whole life.
“I’m 53 now, and I began dancing with my grandmother when I was 5,” Encinias said.
Encinias’ mother started the Festival Flamenco de Albuquerque in 1987. It’s since grown to be the country’s largest flamenco festival and the largest international festival outside of Spain.
This year, festival organizers from the National Institute of Flamenco are celebrating 37 years with 126 artists — 37 of whom are from New Mexico — and 23 live performances from June 21-29.
“For us this year, the festival is huge,” said Encinias, who is now the festival’s executive director. She sees the festival as an opportunity to engage with people outside of New Mexico via flamenco performances. “We are bringing in 82 performers from Spain this year. (Eighty-two) visas have been granted, and that’s pretty incredible.”
Encinias says this year, the performances will range from traditional flamenco to experimental and avant-garde musical theater.
“It energizes me when someone says, ‘That is not at all what I expected.’ As with any art form, it varies based on the interpretation or the message of the creator. It can take many forms,” she said.
The festival will include over 60 free and paid workshops, 13 internationally based performance companies, one New Mexican company and two world premiere shows. Performances and workshops are scheduled in various locations around the state.
“The arts are medicine,” Encinias said. “Our community needs that.”
Ticket packages and workshop information are available at www.ffabq.org.
