Oral tradition, the emergence of technology and artistic creativity define the twelfth edition and the period with which the first part of the trilogy begins, which will tell a story of the flamencoThe conceptual poster pays tribute to the Basque pelota and is linked to the flamenco through the meaning of tandal: patio.
The musical posters of the 12th edition will feature artists such as Tomatito, Pepe Habichuela, Manolo Franco, Gerardo Nunez, Rafael Riqueni, Jose Antonio Rodriguez, Jose Valencia, Antonio Najarro Company, Esperanza Fernandez, Lela Soto, Angeles Toledano, Maria Terremoto, Los Planetas, Duquende, Yerai Cortes, La Macanita, Queralt Lahoz, Daniel Casares, Antonio Canales, Miguel Vargas, Manuel de la Tomasa, Agujetas Chico, Alba Heredia, Ismael de la Rosa "El Bola", Montse Cortes or Jose and Fernando Canela, among many others.
All information about locations, spaces and artists, as well as ticket purchases for Grandes Conciertos, Siglo XXI and Tablao On Fire, are available at flamencoonfire.org
From left to right, Rico Muñoz (Sabicas House), Aitana Duque (Viana City Council), Rebeca Esnaola (Government of Navarra), Arturo Fernández (Director of Flamenco On Fire), Maider Beloki (Pamplona/Iruña City Council), Irune García (Tudela City Council), Ricardo Hernández (Gaz Kaló).
Pamplona/Iruña, May 22. As if it were a story of the flamenco and for three editions. Flamenco on Fire will show that the flamenco It has been an art in constant evolution and the creativity displayed by its artists, in addition to their evident professional character, have shaped its formation, growth and development over the last two hundred years.
This is how the press conference held this morning in Pamplona/Iruña began. It was explained that the 2025 edition will begin in the first third of the 1925th century and end with the decline of the Cafés Cantantes, that is, approximately in XNUMX. The oral tradition will be discussed and perceived, the importance of the emergence of technology in establishing certain musical standards that still endure will be heard and understood, and examples will be displayed of how decisive artistic creativity has been during this period. It was highlighted that one of the fundamental places where the flamenco They were the courtyards of houses and inns. This is where the idea of using tandal, a name used in the mid-19th century to designate these courtyards, came from. The theme of this edition focuses on a historical period and uses the meaning of tandal to tell a story of the flamenco, does so to share its evolution, its transmission and its celebration. The tandal of Flamenco on Fire.
This edition's conceptual poster pays homage to one of Navarre's most deeply rooted traditions: Basque pelota. This sport has evolved and developed over the centuries. Its markedly territorial nature in the north has not hindered its expansion, and it was precisely in the last decade of the 19th century that the most representative forms of pelota became established, being, as in the flamenco with its artists, the pelotaris, its main protagonists. A photograph taken of a fronton and its 4 "Falta" line served as the basis for the poster. The 4 has been replaced by 12, which represents the amalgamation rhythm and the number of editions this cultural event will celebrate in 2025. The word "Falta" has been eliminated, and the noun "tandal" has been incorporated to accommodate a historical period along with the representation of the territory through the image.
Following the well-deserved remembrance given by those present to the journalist Loretxo Iñarrea, who passed away recently and who was closely linked to Flamenco On Fire, the musical program was presented: the well-known series "Grand Concerts", "Nocturne", "Siglo XXI", and "Streets, Balconies, and Patios", distributed across three cities, 3 stages, and 13 performances. The remaining series will be announced soon: "Extramusical", "On Fire Sostenible", and "Electro On Fire", which will complete and give meaning to the period covered by this edition. It has been mentioned that there will be cinema, an award ceremony, six conferences, a tribute to the 36 years of the Roma people, a flash mob, "On Fire Kids", as well as other surprises related to Basque pelota, a multimedia creation contest... and countless charitable and environmental actions.
About the twelfth edition and its musical programming
It will begin on August 22nd in Viana. On the 23rd, it will travel to Tudela and disembark in Pamplona/Iruña from August 26th to 31st. A day has been gained in the Navarrese capital compared to the previous year. The most significant musical developments are the expansion of the venues where Siglo XXI is held. It begins with a concert at Baluarte and the restoration of the Gayarre Theater, also for Siglo XXI. The christening of the Ezpeleta Palace as the Pansequito Stage in honor and remembrance of the brilliant singer José Cortés Jiménez "Pansequito," as a space reserved for the cante and which together with the Sabicas Stage, dedicated to the concert guitar, become two fundamental pillars of the programming of the Flamenco on Fire. We are betting on our own productions: Alzapúa is launching its third edition, with a generation of guitarists who can only be described as golden, presenting through the show “Reseteando”, three flamenco voices, three women who have turned the flamenco scene of 2025 upside down. The Tablao On Fire will host a well-deserved tribute to Canela de San Roque. The territories flamencos, sought to show their musical diversity, also have a presence in this edition: Lebrija, Triana, Jerez, Jaén, Málaga, Algeciras, Córdoba, Badajoz, Seville, Granada, Almería, Alicante, Barcelona, Huelva, Madrid….In terms of schedules, the same structure as last year's edition is maintained: Viana and Tudela afternoon/evening schedules and Pamplona/Iruña from morning until dawn.
The 'Great Concerts' series will start on August 22nd in the town of Viana and will be led by José Valencia will be at the Ruins of San Pedro (21.00:XNUMX p.m.) bringing his show “My Way.” On Saturday, August 23rd, at the Gaztambide Theater in Tudela, it will be the turn of the Triana singer Esperanza Fernández (21.30:27 p.m.) to present "De Triana al mundo" (From Triana to the World). The series travels to Pamplona/Iruña and ends at the Baluarte Auditorium with four performances. Alzapúa III, an in-house production, will be performed on August 20.30th (XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.) with the guitars of Manolo Franco, Gerardo Núñez, Rafael Riqueni and José Antonio Rodríguez. A unique meeting, to which this year will be added as guest artists, AAntonio Canales to the dance and in the cante Montse Cortés and with the special collaboration of Pepe Habichuela, who will receive the respect and admiration of the artists of Alzapúa III. The ballet of the Antonio Najarro Company, on August 28 (21.30:XNUMX p.m.) its adaptation of Romance Sonámbulo, a work based on the poem by Federico García Lorca. A new production of Flamenco on Fire: “Resetting” which will be on August 30 (21.30:XNUMX p.m.) and will feature the singers Lela Soto, Ángeles Toledano and María Terremoto. This series will close with a bang: Tomatito, the essential guitarist, will present his show "Un Paseo," which explores his discography and will also give a preview of some of his new works, which will be included on his upcoming album. The show will take place on August 31st (20.30:XNUMX p.m.).
This series' common denominator is its nocturnal nature and its performances are always held in emblematic locations or spaces designed to showcase the personalities of the featured artists. On August 27th, it will be the turn of the Balcony of the Government Palace of Navarre in Pamplona/Iruña. The singer from Extremadura, Miguel Vargas, will kick off this year's street program in the Navarrese capital at 22.00:3 p.m. Admission is free. The renowned Hotel XNUMX Reyes will once again be converted into a tablao. flamencoThere will be five nights, the cante de Duquende At 22.30:27 p.m. on August XNUMX, the Granada dance, Alba Heredia at 23.30:28 p.m. on August 29. The third night, that is, Friday, August XNUMX, will again be the cante from Jerez, Tomasa Guerrero “La Macanita”, which will take center stage and will be at 23.30:30 p.m. While on Saturday, August 23.30, at XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., the dance of the Granadan will once again take center stage. Vero “India”. On Sunday, August 31, the cycle will close cante, the dance and guitar of Campo de Gibraltar around a party in memory of Canela de San Roque which will begin at 22.30:XNUMX p.m. and will feature members of the family of the well-known singer: José Canela and Fernando Canela cante, to Noelia Sabarea on dance and Nono Reyes on guitar, which will close the cycle and the twelfth edition of Flamenco on Fire.
Current and always at the forefront, 'Escenario Siglo XXI' is opening up to other venues in the Navarrese capital through the incorporation of the Gayarre Theatre and Baluarte, in addition to the usual Zentral hall in Pamplona/Iruña. Alicante-born Yerai Cortés will kick things off with his show "Guitarra coral" at the Gayarre Theatre on August 26 (20.00:9.30 p.m.). Queralt Lahoz will present his new album "28:20.00 p.m." on August 29 (21.30:XNUMX p.m.) at the Zentral Hall. On August XNUMX at Baluarte (XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.), it will be the turn of Granada-born Los Planetas, who, under their "essential" format, will demonstrate their excellent and deep relationship with the flamenco, opening doors to audiences far removed from this genre. This stage will close, Rocio Marquez and Bronquio with his successful "Tercer Cielo" in a theater format. It will be held on August 31st (20.00:XNUMX p.m.) at the Sala Zentral, bringing this series to a close.
The concert guitar cycle of the Sabicas Stage at the Civivox Condestable that was inaugurated in the last edition begins on Wednesday, August 27 and on Sunday, August 31 from 18.30:19.30 p.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., lovers of the sonanta will be able to enjoy the concerts of Miguel Vargas and Juan Vargas, José Antonio Rodríguez, Daniel Casares, David Cerreduela and Alfredo Lagos.
The doors of the Ezpeleta Palace will open to admit the cante and they dress up to receive the name "Pansequito Stage." Five performances steeped in oral tradition that will begin at 19.45:27 p.m., from Wednesday, August 31 to Sunday, August XNUMX. A stage dedicated exclusively to flamenco lyricism. The Jerez band will kick things off. Agujetas Chico and Domingo Rubichi, followed by Ismael de la Rosa “El Bola” and José de Tomate, the following day it will be the turn of Manuel de la Tomasa and David de Arahal, who will pass the baton to Esmeralda Rancapino and Nono Reyes and closing this cycle José Canela with Nono Reyes' guitar.
Pamplona/Iruña City Hall hosts a first-class flamenco program to enjoy on the street. One of the great emblems of the Flamenco on Fire. In it rise the figures of the cante and the guitar to proclaim the sung and musicalized word. This twelfth edition, beginning On Thursday, August 28th and ending on August 31st at 12 noon, there will be Duquende and Julio Santiago, La Macanita and Manuel Valencia, Tomatito and Fernando Canela and Alfredo Lagos.
The Hotel La Perla. The rooms that once hosted world cultural figures such as Ernest Hemingway, Charles Chaplin, and Orson Wells now host a wide array of artists. cante Live music from the Thursday, August 28 to August 31 at 12.45:XNUMX p.m. from one of the bastions of Flamenco on Fire.
All information and ticket sales are available at flamencoonfire.org.
The event was presented and hosted by journalist Luis Gortari and featured a performance by the Navarrese guitarist Jesus Carbonell.
Rebeca Esnaola: The Regional Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Rebeca Esnaola, praised the festival and its expansion "beyond Pamplona" with the consolidation of the venues in Tudela and Viana. "Structuring the region through culture is essential, and even more so if the public response is positive." Esnaola described it as a festival "with its own personality," blending emerging artists with established stars, "demonstrating the vitality and reach of this art form and of our local artists."
Maider Beloki: “The Pamplona City Council reaffirms its commitment to culture through its collaboration with Flamenco on Fire, a festival that in its twelfth edition once again turns the city into one of the epicenters of flamenco at the national and international levels. This year, the conceptual poster pays tribute to Basque pelota, a deeply rooted tradition in Iruña, as a symbol of cultural transmission, generational evolution, and a connection to the territory. A visual metaphor that dialogues with the flamenco from the local to the universal.
This edition begins a trilogy that covers two centuries of history of the flamenco, from 1830 to 1925, with special attention to creative and communal spaces such as courtyards and tenement buildings. In this context, it's a real pleasure to once again offer the balcony and street programming, which brings art closer to the public, democratizes it, and transforms it into a living, shared experience.
The City Council, along with the other institutions involved, welcomes and supports a proposal that places Pamplona on the cultural map with an approach that is accessible, sustainable, and deeply connected to its roots and its people.”
Irune García: “The streets and the Gaztambide Theatre of Tudela welcome every year Flamenco on Fire. A cultural offering that enriches our city by showcasing quality programming around the genre flamenco which takes place in very emblematic locations. In this edition, in addition to the traditional balcony of the town hall and the Gaztambide Theatre, we have opted for different activities such as group choreographies in the street and tributes before the Gaztambide performance, demonstrating that each year Tudela is more integrated into Flamenco “on Fire”.
Aitana Duque: “The Viana City Council continues to support the approach of the Flamenco in all its expressions, to the local population and visitors, placing the town on the map of major festivals.
The proposed program allows, on the one hand, to diversify Viana's cultural offerings and, on the other, to bring this type of artistic manifestations closer to rural environments. The exceptional experience of uniting flamenco with heritage makes Viana a tourist and cultural destination to add to your summer agenda.
Ricardo Hernández and Rico Muñoz: "For the Federation of Roma Associations of Navarre, Gaz Kaló and La Casa de Sabicas, it is very important that this 2025 edition maintains the spirit with which the festival was born, as well as honoring the memory of Maestro Sabicas and his legacy in his beloved Pamplona, along with Tudela and Viana. This year also marks the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the Roma people to the Iberian Peninsula. It is essential to continue keeping the flame of this Festival alive, with La Casa Sabicas and Gaz Kaló as essential players from the beginning, and to continue promoting social action activities, empowerment, and participation of Roma women. Volunteering and solidarity tickets are other hallmarks that must continue to be nurtured, in addition to supporting and highlighting the artists." flamencos of the earth. 12 years of this great festival will continue to contribute very positively to the dissemination of flamenco and gypsy culture in Navarre, just as Uncle Sabas dreamed of it”
