Unable to hide his enthusiasm, Francis Hidalgo (Algodonales, Cádiz, 1985) has been working for months on the festival he created in his hometown, the Tagarnina Fest, whose first edition kicks off this Thursday, August 21st, with high expectations. An event dedicated to flamenco dance in its broadest sense, with a vocation for continuity and growth, it will feature figures such as Leonor Leal, Macarena López, Sara Jiménez, and Marco Flores.
– How did you come up with the idea of holding a festival in the town where you were born?
– I remembered that I myself started getting into dancing as a youngster thanks to a program organized by a rural bank every summer. Aurora Vargas, Manuela Carrasco, Pansequito, José Menese all played there. Then, many of us kids started dancing in the village, signing up for all the competitions in the surrounding area. There's always been a movement in this area, but I miss a good foundation. Traditionally, there have been schools to teach sevillanas and tanguillos, but continuity was needed.
– How has the Tagarnina Fest been received by local residents?
– The enthusiasm is very noticeable. For a while now, I've noticed that people know I dance, they look at me, ask me about companies, festivals... And with this one, of course, they're really getting involved. There are two schools that are going to participate and they're going to use half of Algodonales, and just seeing those girls dance is enough to see the talent. You can see it in their manner; many would have potential if they went to Seville or Madrid to further their training. I asked for twenty or thirty people for the promotional video, and they had to block the street because so many people signed up; it felt like a pilgrimage. But the important thing is that, ahead of the festival, people are very excited; you hear everywhere that "it starts this weekend!"
– How does the festival fit in with this area of white villages?
– In twenty kilometers we can add up a lot of towns, and yet there was no festival of these characteristics. I really wanted to propose a project like this and for people to see that we are no longer in the era of Matilde Coral, which in the flamenco Progress is being made, investigating beyond the classic dance por soleá or por seguiriyas.
«I wanted this first edition to be very educational. That's why we've scheduled a lecture by Susanne Zellinger and a first day dedicated to children with Leonor Leal. A second day with two dancers like Macarena and Sara, very connected to the world of performance, so that people can see all the colors that exist in the world. flamencoAnd finally, Marcos Flores' show, a super-current and modern proposal.
– Have the institutions responded?
– I completed a master's degree in cultural management at the Rey Juan Carlos University. I wrote my final project specifically with this idea of the Tagarnina Fest in mind. I presented it to the mayor, and he loved it. And the same went for the deputy for culture. I also contacted private entities such as expoflamenco or Valeriano Bernal's guitar workshop, and we have had all that support.
– Any particularly notable obstacles?
– I was afraid that some things wouldn't be well understood, such as the idea of blacking out the town to highlight the monuments where we're going to place the proposals, but the truth is that it's all been very easy. The politicians themselves know it's an area with great potential, but culturally, it's very limited, limited to the fair, the pilgrimage, and Holy Week. We mustn't forget that Algodonales is a town of 5,000 inhabitants; it can't have a cultural budget like that of Cádiz or Jerez. But they've seen this as an opportunity to create a solid project with a future.
– Have you chosen any specific model to look up to?
– We artists are the ones who go out and see what can be done, what can't… Although I haven't taken any model in this case, I have learned a lot from France, where you go to Provence and find a wonderful classical music festival in a small town. Here we have a wonderful church, a castle over there, we must be aware of that heritage and take advantage of it. We've been limited by budgetary issues, but I'd like to see it grow like those other events I've been fortunate enough to work on.
– What has been the priority when programming?
– I wanted this first edition to be very educational. That's why we've scheduled a lecture by Susanne Zellinger, as well as a first day dedicated to children with Leonor Leal, to build community. A second day where people can see what's being done, with two dancers like Macarena and Sara, very connected to the world of performance, so that people can see all the colors that exist in the world. flamencoAnd finally, the show by Marcos Flores, a very modern and current proposal, very interesting, but which also dances palos classics. It's about the public seeing how much there is in the flamenco, and that even the most traditional dance is advancing and becoming more studied.
"I asked for twenty or thirty people for the promotional video, and they had to block the street because so many people signed up. It felt like a pilgrimage. But the important thing is that people are very excited about the festival; you hear everywhere that it starts this weekend!"
– Have the artists been involved?
– From the very beginning. Everyone has said, “Let's move forward, there's no more discussion.” This has been possible, in large part, thanks to them.
– What would be a success in this first edition?
– That all the shows were packed, that the artists left happy, speaking highly of the festival, that a community was created between them and the townspeople. That any resident of the town saw the reality of this art through their own eyes, beyond YouTube and Instagram. Sometimes we focus on the visual and miss the artistic context, what's behind it. We have to think about that.
– And where would you like Tagarnina Fest to be in five, ten years…?
– Look, we have a soccer field. I'd like to see a ballet here one day. Flamenco of Andalusia, or a National Ballet of Spain. Although I'm interested in smaller formats, I'd like to show a large company to people who've never seen one. We're a small town, but all the municipalities in the area together have a population of 500.000, and they also have the right to enjoy a project of this magnitude. ♦
