At twenty-two years old, José Luis Ortiz Nuevo organized The Archidona Porraa festival flamenco which was celebrated every year during the first five years of the seventies. He brought to his hometown profound references such as Pepe de la Matrona, Enrique Morente o Manuel Gerena, as well as first-rate literary figures such as big felix.
In 1980, while serving as Councillor for Culture in Seville, he created the biennial of Flamenco of Sevillawhich would eventually eclipse all other festivals due to its international impact and the quality and variety of its programming. In 1988, he consolidated his vision of a Biennial understood as a showcase of the avant-garde in the profound universe, a space capable of shedding light on the multifaceted dialogue that the flamenco It has always maintained a connection with other artistic expressions. A clear example of this was that year's poster, created by none other than Rafael Alberti.
Now, in 2025, José Luis Ortiz Nuevo remains one of the most prolific defenders of the flamenco avant-garde. His arguments don't stem from thousands of hours of doomscrolling not on Instagram, but from thousands of hours of archival research. These ideas have been captured in books such as A plea against purity, Is anything known?, Morente's book 1, The rage of pleasure, Tremendous astonishment, among others, as well as in the festivals he directs, as happened with so many Biennials and as happens with so many Cabildos.
"The 19th-century folklorist from Archidona, Don Emilio Lafuente y Alcántara, left behind a collection of folk songs that had never received the attention it deserved. All this will change over four days in November 2025 thanks to the support of the Archidona City Council, some of the most outstanding flamenco artists, and distinguished researchers."
This eighth edition of the Cabildo Flamenco 'Archidona has a woman's name' is no exception. The words of Ortiz Nuevo himself, spoken recently at a press conference, make this clear: "Everything revolves around Don Emilio Lafuente y Alcántara [and his popular songbook]." from the modernity of the flamenco, from the honesty of what flamenco and since ancient times flamenco».
The 19th-century folklorist from Archidona, Don Emilio Lafuente y AlcántaraHe left behind a collection of popular songs that—despite its incalculable historical value—had never received the attention it deserved. All this will change over four days in November 2025. Thanks to the support of the illustrious Archidona City Council –along with other sponsors–, some of the most outstanding flamenco artists, as well as distinguished researchers, will transform the Malaga town of Archidona into a cultural constellation where the ancient and the modern, the highbrow and the popular, converge in the name of flamenco. flamenco and in the case of two universal Archidones: Emilio Lafuente and José Luis Ortiz Nuevo.
