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Nanette Shaw
Latin American influences on the southern Spanish art of Flamenco will be explored in a bilingual talk illustrated with music and dance at the City University Graduate Center on Wednesday, May 24, at 7 pm. Flamenco’s dance, music, and song components will be performed by Spanish masters, preceded by an introductory discussion in both English and Spanish. The free, public program -- Flamenco in Latin America: An Illustrated Talk with Music and Dance -- will be presented in the Proshansky Auditorium of The Graduate Center’s new campus at 365 Fifth Avenue. Performers include dancer Milagros Mengibar, singer Calixto Sánchez, and guitarist Manolo Franco, along with author and historian Fernando Iwasaki. The program is being presented by the Instituto Cervantes in cooperation with The Graduate Center’s Ph.D. Program in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and the Fundación Cristina Heeren de Arte Flamenco. Indigenous to Spain’s southern Adalusian region, Flamenco is rooted in the region’s ancient folk traditions but was also shaped in Spain’s cultural caldron, incorporating gypsy and Moorish influences. Dedicated masters have enabled the art form to survive in its traditional form, retaining the ancient, profound, and mysterious qualities that make Flamenco unique. Milagros Mengibar was winner of the first prize at the National Contest in Córdoba in 1974, has performed at the most significant Flamenco Festivals, and has recently been awarded the Critic's Prize. Known for her exceptionally graceful and feminine style as well as her talent for expression, she directs the Dance Department at the Flamenco Art School of the Cristina Heeren Foundation. Guitarist and composer Manolo Franco was a winner of the prestigious Giraldillo Award in 1984. He has accompanied some of the finest Flamenco singers and dancers around the world. Singer Calixto Sánchez was awarded the first prize of the Granada Festival by Andrés Segovia in 1972 and won the "Antonio Chacón" Prize of the National Contest of Córdoba (1974) as well as the "Giraldillo del Cante" in 1980. He has made seven recordings. Fernando Iwasaki was born in Lima in 1961. He has served as a professor at the Catholic University of Lima (1983-1989), Director of Cultural Affairs of the San Telmo Foundation in Seville (1991-1994), and is currently Director of the Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco Art in Seville. He is the author of eleven books, including El Descubrimento de España (1996), Inquisiciones Peruanas (1994), Extremo Oriente y Perú en el siglo XVI (1992), and Tres Noches de Corbata (1987), among others. He is the director of the literary review Renacimiento. The Graduate Center is the doctorate-granting institution of The City University of New York, the largest urban university in the U.S. The only consortium of its kind in the nation, The Graduate Center draws its faculty of more than 1,600 members mainly from the CUNY senior colleges and cultural and scientific institutions throughout New York City. Established in 1961, The Graduate Center has grown to an enrollment of nearly 4,000 students in 31 doctoral programs and seven master's degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The Graduate Center also houses 24 research centers and institutes and administers the CUNY Baccalaureate Program. According to a recent National Research Council report, more than a third of The Graduate Center's rated programs rank among the nation's top 20 at public and private institutions, nearly a quarter are among the top ten when compared to publicly supported institutions alone, and more than half are among the top five programs at publicly supported institutions in the northeast. Further information on The Graduate Center's programs and activities can be found on its Web site at: www.gc.cuny.edu. |