Flamenco returns to Red Light Café in the spirit of the tablaos of Spain, where improvisation is at the core of performance. Guitar, song, and dance blend in percussive dynamics that express emotion and passion. Singer Barbara Martinez is highlighted in this show that showcases years of her collaboration with guitarist and singer Cristian Puig and accompaniment by percussionist Emrah Kotan and dancers Ryan Zermeño and Julie Moon.
$12 Adv – $15 Door
Doors @ 6:30 PM
All ticket sales are final. No refunds.
I'm Barbara Martinez. I grew up in New York City singing in opera and musical theater. I was born in Venezuela, although my mother and her side of the family is from Argentina. I guess have inherited the love for music, theater and art from my family. My grandmother and her aunt made long careers for themselves as singer/actresses in Argentina, and my father is a sculptor in Venezuela. When I returned to New York after college at Brown U, I fell in love with flamenco, although my mother claims i was dancing as a child in the kitchen! I travel to Spain every year and brought back all the learning and all the magic of those hours spent with my idols and friends. For many years I focused on the dancing (el baile), and studis intensely with New York pillars like La Conja and La Meira, working and learning on the job at Jorge Navarro's original tablao, Alegrias back when it was on on Bedford Street and 7th. I worked with dance companies like Andrea del Conte Danza Espana. Then I returned to my alma mater, The Met Opera, where I had sung for many years as a child, but this time as a gypsy dancer in Carmen and La Traviata.
I began focusing more and more on flamenco singing (el cante) when I had my son Mateo and I began to sing more and more for dancers. I had learned somuch from the singers who had sung for me over the years, Alfonso Cid, David Castellanos, Luis Vargas, Aurora Reyes and so many others from Spain. In 2008, I studied cante on scholarship at the Cristina Heeren Foundation in Seville, Spain. In 2010 I was honored to be invited to sing at Carnegie Hall to participate in a series put together by William Maselli, featuring world music singers.
Today, I spend my time doing a lot of singing for flamenco dance companies like Carlota Santana Flamenco Vivo, Pasion y Arte, A Palo Seco, Sol y Sombra and often with Juanito Pascual in Boston. I also perform as a soloist, sometimes with a full sextet of flamenco and jazz musicians, and sometimes in smaller formats. This is a lush and eclectic repertoire of flamenco, Latin, Sephardic, Middle Eastern and jazz, always interspersed with dance. These past few years of performing in jazz venues over the years with this group are culminating, as we speak, in a recording production that will hopefully do justice to this unique sound.
Director Carolina Loyola-Garcia recently made a documentary called "Sobre Las Olas - A Story of Flamenco in the U.S." about artists like myself who dedicate ourselves to flamenco torch outside of Spain. Flamenco Vivo also sponsored the exhibit "100 Years of Flamenco in New York" at the Performing Arts Library, featuring us and also the many artists who paved the way. Any flamenco aficionado or professional would probably say that flamenco is a lifetime learning experience. The world of flamenco songs is so vast that we are constantly studying and researching the palos, the artists who popularized different cantes and bailes, the styles that pertain to each specific region of Andalucia and the endlessly fascinating layers of history and cross-dissemination of cultures in Spain help define flamenco as an ever-evolving and unique art form.
Cristian Puig is a Flamenco guitarist, composer, and singer with Gypsy roots in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, and a string of artistic successes in film, in the recording studio, and live on stage. He played the role of guitarist and singer “Joaquin” in the Alliance Theatre’s 2013 production of “Zorro”, and he has worked in films, such as “A Late Quartet”, for which he composed Flamenco music for the soundtrack. He performs as a Flamenco singer and guitarist across the United States of America and with his Flamenco trio Puig-Sanchez-Moreno in his hometown of New York. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Cristian Puig is the son of flamenco singer Gloria Monreal and Flamenco guitarist Pablo Puig. As a teenager, Cristian began his studies in classical guitar at the conservatory of Manuel de Falla as well as Flamenco guitar with his father. Soon he took classes in Flamenco guitar with Quique de Cordoba and furthered his studies in jazz, bossa nova and contemporary music. In 1990 he formed and toured South America with his group Rabat, fusing jazz, bossa nova and Flamenco. Cristian released the CD “Entre Cuerdas” featuring Flamenco-jazz fusion and has just released a new CD entitled “Inflam Project”, which crosses Indian and Flamenco styles.
Emrah Kotan is a classically trained percussionist who came to the United States from his native Turkey and received a Master's degree in Jazz Studies from Georgia State University. His debut album, The New Anatolian Experience, is a collection of original compositions and arrangements that fuse world music and jazz, creating stylistically sophisticated vibes and a genuine model of personal artistic expression.
After playing some of the most renowned venues in the world such as the Istanbul Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival and The Blue Note in New York, Emrah is one of the most sought after musicians in the Atlanta music scene. His unique musical ability transcends many genres and cultures. He is involved in various musical projects, including his own, and is the drummer/percussionist for Grammy award winning artist, India.Arie.
Aside from performing, Emrah is an enthusiastic music educator who has conducted master classes and has taught many students over the years, some of which who have been awarded music scholarships by the colleges of their choice. Emrah teaches students of all ages privately and is the Director of the Jazz and World Percussion Ensembles at Agnes Scott College. He lives in Atlanta, GA.
Ryan Zermeño began studying flamenco at the age of nine with Roberto Amaral. Since then, Ryan has been performing professionally alongside some of the best Flamenco dancers and musicians. His passion for flamenco has driven Ryan to explore all aspects of this art form, including guitar and cajon. When in Spain, Ryan studies with Domingo Ortega, Ramon Martinez and Juan de los Reyes. Ryan recently shared the stage with his former teacher Domingo Ortega in the show 'Cumbre Flamenca.'
Julie "Moon" Galle Baggenstoss has performed and choreographed Flamenco dance for the Atlanta Opera, Georgia State University’s School of Music, The Latin American Association, Coves Darden P.R.E., and at universities and museums from the Southeast to the Midwest. She is a member of the faculty of Emory University’s Dance Program, where she teaches Flamenco as part of the university curriculum. Julie is a former instructor of the Atlanta Ballet, and teaches for organizations such as the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, the Foreign Language Association of Georgia, and Georgia Public Libraries. She currently tours her original shows for kids “Ferdinand por farruca” and “That’s Apoyo”, and performs in “Olé flamenco”, presented by Young Audiences Woodruff Arts Center.
Julie’s dance style reflects continuing education and years of classes with Spanish dance teachers, including Angelita Vargas, Juan del Gastor, Manuela Reyes, Pilar Ortega, Manuel Liñán, and Juan Paredes. Her work is guided by the far-reaching input of Flamenco artists La Meira and Antonio Granjero. Off stage, Julie produces Flamenco performances and educational seminars involving Spanish Flamenco artists in residence in the United States of America. She lectures on the history, evolution, and cultural significance of Flamenco and its artists. Julie is the co-founder of jaleolé, a grass-roots marketing organization that shaped Atlanta’s Flamenco landscape for a decade. Growing awareness about Flamenco – its origin and evolution, its many and varied interpretations, and the art form’s place in American culture – is part of the work taking place in Julie’s projects, including Berdolé, flamencoclasses.com, Flamenco Georgia, and others.