Paco de Lucía designed the Ibiza of the hippies and the peaceful Menorca but promised not to leave Majorca when a friend invited him to his house in Palma facing the sea. He said that there was “peace and tranquility” that he needed to compose, to go to the beach with his children and “eat a fried fish”. He died in 2014 after a heart attack but, years later, the link between the Balearic capital and the artist from Algeciras has lasted. His host land established for the second consecutive year the 'Festival Paco de Lucía. Palma Flamenca', which makes the Balearic capital the world epicenter of flamenco.
“It seemed like a utopia and we are already in the second edition”, the musician's widow, Gabriela Canseco, celebrated during the festival presentation this Tuesday in Palma, excited that the artist's legacy “consolidates”. “Paco was most interested in spreading flamenco, giving it strength”, she stressed.
Estrella Morente will host the poster for this second edition of the Paco de Lucía Palma Flamenca Mallorca Festival, which will be held at the Principal and Xesc Forteza Theatres, from March 1 to 5 in the Balearic capital. Morente did not attend the presentation due to a health problem, but his performance is scheduled for March 1. Last year his brothers Soleà and Kiki were in charge of inaugurating it.
This is the second edition of the festival that will also feature Antonio Sánchez, guitarist and nephew of Paco de Lucía, who will perform accompanied by Simfovents at the Conservatorio Superior de Música on March 2. Rocío Molina and Yerai Cortés will perform on March 3 at the Xesc Forteza Municipal Theater, on the 4th Rocío Márquez and Bronquio will play and light up.
The bill will close on March 5 with Rancapino Chico, considered one of the great promises of pure flamenco, at the Teatre Municipal Xesc Forteza. At the same time, the festival will host complementary activities, such as the performance of the bailaora Rocío Molina, National Dance Award in 2010 and Silver Lion at the last Venice Biennale, at the Es Baluard Museum or the photographic exhibition 'Water' by Lola Álvarez in the CaixaForum background.
Paco de Lucía, in Majorca Efe
During the festival presentation, a documentary produced by IB3 and directed by Peter Echave was shown, in which some anecdotes of the artist's life on the island were recounted. «I asked him to tell me how much his collaboration on my album cost and he told me that I will pay him with half a dozen melons from Vilafranca, from my town", the singer-songwriter Tomeu Penya confessed with a laugh in this report, referring to 'Paraules que s 'endú es vent', the twenty-third album of his career, released in 2007 .
The festival has had the support of the Palma City Council and the Mallorca Council from the beginning, and since this edition the Government and CaixaForum have joined. Both Bel Busquets, vice-president of the Consell and head of Culture, and Antoni Noguera, deputy mayor for Culture at the Palma City Council, recalled that this festival is "a return from Mallorca to Paco de Lucía" for his affection for this land.
All the benefits will go to the Paco de Lucía Foundation, to "give opportunities" to young emerging artists and collaborators in social and research projects. "We want to continue having one hand in tradition and another in innovation", ends the video of Paco de Lucía and also president of the Foundation.
