In episode 3 of Flamenco, Intersectionality, and the Politics of Identity, I invite renown Flamenco dancer Raquel Heredia, "La Repompa", and sensational Flamenco guitarist Jero Férec, to speak with me on how their individual artistic practices serve not just as a form of creative expression but have transformed in a practice of healing and catharsis. While each artist is vastly different in their manner of expression, their cultural background, and how they made their way to flamenco, they both share a complete and total embodiment of the philosophy of this art form with every single cell of their being. Raquel Heredia Reyes, originally from el Barrio de la Trinidad, Málaga, comes from a distinguished family of artists. The daughter of Rafaela Reyes and guitarist Luis Heredia, her and her sister Amparo Heredia represent a long line of “Repompas y Repompillas de Málaga”, starting with their great Aunt, Enriqueta de la Santísima Trinidad de Los Reyes Porra, the first Repompa. She began her dancing career early on in Canada with the support of her family before moving to New York to work with dancer Juan Andrés Maya. From New York to Japan and back to Spain, she has performed at the Apollo Theater to Alhambra to Versaille. She has shared the stage with many of the greats like Antonio Canales, Carmen Liñares, Miguel Poveda, and Los Farrucos. To watch her dance is a true sight to be seen. Her unbridled, emotional, and explosive movements are tempered by moments of quietude and deeply spiritual and emotional introspection that has less to do with the "spectacle" of flamenco, but true moments of catharsis that she freely shares on stage. To learn from her is to be offered something rarely given to students, a true philosophy of what it means to "live" flamenco; not just dancing steps and interpreting music, but to feel what it means to live it in your bones. She is an artist, she is a philosopher, and a true master of flamenco. She is a visionary in how she speaks about her art practice, Heredia exists in a class all her own that channels a guru-like sensibility that speaks to ideas of the sublime and the spiritual; art as a transcendental and metaphysical practice. Jero Férec, is Flamenco Guitarist based in Barcelona, and represents a new wave of flamenco artists who embody both the ancient and primordial power of flamenco, but do so with an emphasis on what is true for them; the celebration of individuality, authenticity, and total unabashed search for freedom and voice that is at the root of flamenco and its birthplace: a place where the queer, the different, the marginalized, the unwanted, and the shunned can find reprieve from the brute, the bigot, and the batterer. Since the tender age of seven, Jero has trained as a flamenco musician. With a Masters of Flamenco earned while studying at Catalunya College of Music (ESMUC) under the tutelage of Juan Ramón Caro, and a Leask Music Scholar from St. Catherine College in Oxford. From France to Palestine to New York and back to Spain, they have carved a space for themselves to share their work and the work of other queer flamencs such are Alvaro Romero of RomeroMartín, and researcher, historian, and philosopher Fernando López. In 2019, Jero competed in the Spanish version of "Got Talent" where they left the judges baffled by the fact they were originally from London, but spoke Castilian and played guitar as if they had lived all their life in Andalucía; truly illustrating the fact the flamenco knows no borders or limitations based on geography, cultural background, or nationality. They are the co-founder, along with dancer Ruben Heras, of Flamenco Queer; a project, practice, and way of being that celebrates queer identities and intersections through the exploration of topics such as HIV/AIDS, BDSM, Voguing and Ballroom culture, trans identity and gender non-conforming, sexuality, and the erotic.
To learn more about these artists:
Raquel Heredia:
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Jero Férec