New York Sun Article “Two Ambassadors of Flamenco Bring the Noise”
Valerie Gladstone writes about Son de la Frontera and Tomatito coming to the New York Flamenco Festival, (Son de la Frontera at the Skirball Center 2/23 and 2/24). Read the full article here.
”Nominated for the 2008 BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music, the quintet employs the rhythms of North India, Afghanistan, and North Africa — the Gypsies who settled in Andalusia in the 11th century originated in North India and traveled to Spain by way of the Near East and South America — and especially those of Cuba.
“‘It’s understandable,’ Mr. Rodriguez said. ‘The place where the boats moored before embarking on their journeys to Cuba was in Cadiz. When they got to the other side of the Atlantic, the first port of call was Havana. I think it’s essential and really important to look back, listen to the old-timers, and learn. Without using its past, flamenco has no future. It’s the only possible option. You have to look back to bring information to the present and focus it with great care and respect toward the future.’”