So it was... Flamenco Chipén Exhibition

Exhibition FLAMENCO Chipén It was divided into five sections that covered the history of dance, guitar playing and singing in the capital, taking as its starting point the first documentary reference to flamenco: an article published in the newspaper El Espectador in 1847, entitled “A flamenco singer”. In this century-and-a-half-long history, with an evident life path from south to north, Madrid has played a fundamental role, from its origins, when it was already beginning to be an aspiration for the emerging figures of flamenco art. 

Flamenco in Madrid cannot be understood without the Teatro Pavón, Zambra, which was the first tablao founded in Spain, El Corral de la Morería and the historic Amor de Dios dance academy or the guitar shops of some of the best luthiers in the country such as the Ramírez or Esteso-Conde. During this time, places such as El Rastro or Caño Roto, in Carabanchel, have acquired their own flamenco personality, which gave its name to the so-called "Caño Roto sound", a significant contribution to the history of the genre and a clear hallmark of Madrid flamenco.

The 80s and 90s saw the emergence of the so-called "young flamencos", with Ketama proclaiming his classic Come to Madrid, the consolidation of the "Flamenco Summit", and the conquest of Paco de Lucía, Camarón and Enrique Morente of the Teatro Real or El Ateneo, spaces that were, until now, foreign to flamenco.

The exhibition included more than 150 pieces, including posters, clothing from some of the main figures such as Camarón, Enrique Morente and Paco de Lucía, archive documents and press articles, along with photographs by Nicolás Müller, Martín Santos Yubero, Ramón Zabalza and Alberto García Alix. A large part of these collections are part of the collections of the Regional Archive and the Regional Library of the Community of Madrid, along with private collections and foundations.

In addition to the video on FLAMENCO Chipén, the exhibition featured the documentary video "Flamenco trail", with testimonies from some of the protagonists of Lavapiés, Plaza de Santa Ana and El Rastro, one of the areas with the highest concentration of talent in the history of flamenco in Madrid.

The musical dialogues Flamenco Chipén, held in April 2024 in the El Águila auditorium, were part of the temporary exhibition FLAMENCO Chipén, coinciding with the declaration of flamenco as Asset of Intangible Cultural Interest of the Community of Madrid.

The three events, curated by Carlos Martín Ballester, brought together renowned flamenco experts to discuss some of the most significant areas of flamenco singing, guitar playing, and dancing in the capital.

The musical dialogues featured performances by prominent figures from the flamenco music scene.

The colloquium “Flamenco Opera in Madrid”, held on April 3, 2024, featured flamenco singer and composer Israel Fernández, guitarist, journalist, and writer José Manuel Gamboa, and sound heritage specialist and writer Carlos Martín Ballester. After playing a selection of digitized historical recordings from the Carlos Martín Ballester Collection, the speakers discussed flamenco from this historical period.

The meeting concluded with a musical performance by Lela Soto and Paco Soto.