Celebrations took place around Andalusia in the south of Spain, as soon as it was announced that flamenco became officially recognised and approved by Unesco, as a World Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This took place at the Intergovernmental Committee in Nairobi, Kenya last November. It had been a long-standing recommendation since 2005. Thousands of people, dancers and artists from all over the world gathered signatures with the aid of the Centro Andaluz de Flamenco (Andalusian Flamenco Centre) with the campaign titled; ‘Flamenco soy’ to contribute towards this becoming a reality.
Evidently, in the two largest Andalusian flamenco cities; Seville and Jerez de la Frontera, the flamenco artists, after their long contribution and campaign for this to occur, were overwhelmed by the outcome. Their last contribution the night before on local Andalusian television channel, Canal Sur, consisted of several flamenco artists including Rocio Molina, Miguel Poveda, Rosario La Tremendita, David Dorantes and Pastora Galvan, who all performed for the television programme especially dedicated to this nomination.
Consequently, celebrations also took place in the various Peñas around Granada, Seville and Jerez de la Frontera, particularly in the latter, where, in the Peña de la Bulerias people gathered for a typical fiesta por Bulerias – a famous Jerezana way of celebrating. However, major celebrations also took place in Sevillian peñas.
When interviewed, the world-renowned artists generally commented on the fact that flamenco should have been approved a long time ago. Sara Baras, one of flamenco’s most prominent names, described that through this achievement, flamenco would be accessible to everyone beyond borders and would reach the hearts of all, even those who do not understand it. Pastora Galvan, on the other hand, stated that one of the advantages is the international projection and impact it would have on flamenco in general.
Victoria Ramos, director of the prominent academy in Jerez de la Frontera, Academia de Baile Jerez, described this achievement as being: “A great achievement for flamenco which was well overdue, given that flamenco is appreciated, learnt and loved with a passion by people all over the world.” Ms Ramos is also an examiner of the Spanish Dance Society, (SDS), a syllabus which covers both Spanish dance and flamenco in several countries over five continents, including Malta.
One of the Maltese SDS teachers, Bettina von Brockdorff (pictured), is currently studying for her second teaching qualification, Instructor de Baile (II), at this academy in Jerez de la Frontera, after being granted the Malta Arts Scholarship in August 2010.