Flamenco music and dance have existed since the eighteenth century, and today it’s a tradition around the globe. But flamenco’s roots remain strongest in its birthplace, Andalusia, a region of southern Spain, where it’s performed in bars, dance halls, and on the streets. The music’s classic forms, called palos, range from light-hearted and fun to mournful and passionate. The soleá is among the oldest forms, and “one of the most haunting,” as one New Yorker contributor recently described it.
The short film “Soleá,” which premières today at the Seville International Film Festival, follows a day in the life of Juan Ramírez, a flamenco guitarist living in Seville, the Andalusian capital. “Essentially, there are two Sevilles,” Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, who co-directed the film with Pedro Kos, says. “There’s one where the tourists visit that’s well kempt. And the other is the grittier one, with laundry hanging outside. That’s where the musicians live—who’ve come from all around the world to learn, and to study, and to live this musical tradition.”
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