Flamenco Soul

The Spanish term for a heightened state of emotion and authenticity, duende, roughly translates to a single word, “soul.” It’s also the mysterious ingredient at the heart of flamenco, the centuries-old art form whose Andalusian origins, while not completely known, are an exotic blend of Jewish, Arab and Gypsy cultures. And while there is still soul to be found amid the urban sprawl that is Southern California, the tight-knit community of flamencans that once stretched from Los Angeles down through Orange County and into San Diego, has become a bit less cohesive.

Reyes Barrios. Photograph by Moises Navarro

Much blame, of course, can be placed on the pandemic, with the ripple effect of Covid causing the loss of institutional support, and with it, audiences, while students suffered, as well. The political climate has also made it more difficult for presenters to bring in artists from outside the United States, while presenters, themselves, are fewer now. Indeed, the indisputable godmother of the L.A. flamenco scene, Deborah Culver Lawlor, who co-founded the 78-seat Fountain Theatre in 1990 and inaugurated the weekly, bi-weekly or monthly Forever Flamenco series and produced in excess of 500 performances, passed away in 2023.

But, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, flamenco, commonly thought of as an art of suffering, is slowly coming back to life: The Love Flamenco World Tour is at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on September 25; and before that, on August 16, Reyes Barrios, who is currently curating the Fountain Theatre series of monthly performances, is presenting a tribute to Briseyda Zaráte, who, with her feline presence and feet of fire—a veritable star in the community—died of cancer in 2025 at age 49. Happily, other Forever Flamenco concerts are also scheduled through December.

Barrios, who was born in Sevilla, Spain, the cradle of flamenco, and moved to San Diego as a child with her family, began learning flamenco at age four. In addition to curating shows—she coordinates the schedule, hires the artistic directors and occasionally performs—her day job is working at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns as a case manager.

“Flamenco now is very different than it was 20 years ago,” explained Barrios, 59. “Students don’t have dedication; it’s more of a hobby for them. What’s lacking is compañerismo, camaraderie between dancers, between artists, and between venues and artists. I think there’s a lot of competition going on now, and what instigated all of this was Covid.

“Because people couldn’t have any students back then,” Barrios added, “they started teaching online. I couldn’t adapt to that and there was so much work at the hospital for those two years. My teacher, Juanita Franco, went from having 65-75 students down to maybe 10 now. We also had Carlos Villatoro, who had 65-70 students four days a week. But because of his nationality and fear of being deported, he moved back to Mexico.”

Yaelisa at the Fountain Theatre, with singer Felix de Lola, guitarist Jason McGuire. Photograph by Moises Navarro

As for dedicated performance venues, there are, sadly, very few. Café Sevilla, a restaurant and tapas bar in San Diego, has a weekly show, but, according to Barrios, “that’s it, and they don’t have money to pay us well. We had a place called Tablao Flamenco that was the competition to Café Sevilla, because it was done by a Spaniard, Don Francisco Ballardo. They used to have flamenco there six nights a week back in the ’80s, ’90s, even the early 2000s.

“It had original paintings, and it looks like Spain in there. It’s huge, and as you drive past La Jolla on the 5 Freeway, you can’t miss the building with the flamenco dancer and bullfighter on the side. It has the original sunken bar and our original flamenco dressing room, but Don Francisco passed away and it went to somebody else. It’s called Tango Del Rey now, and all they do there is a lot of Argentinian tango and salsa, but it was so cool back in the day.”

Looking at the next chapter of flamenco in Southern California, Barrio said she didn’t have a straight answer but agreed that there needs to be a better economy. “Venues don’t have money to bring in artists, and people who used to produce shows can’t afford to bring them.”

One of those producers is Yaelisa Petlin, who goes by her first name only. The daughter of the late flamencan, Isa Mura, she’s a huge presence in the community as a dancer, teacher and presenter. Having lived for years in San Francisco with her husband, guitarist Jason McGuire “El Rubio,” the couple decamped for Corona in Riverside County our years ago.

Founder of the Bay Area-based Caminos Flamencos, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and presenting contemporary, traditional and theatrical dance programs showcasing artists from Spain and the States, the Emmy award-winning Yaelisa recently gave up the non-profit status but retains the name.

“I still want to do the quality and level of productions that I did in the Bay Area,” explained the artist, “which were with people from Spain, and some really great talent that I had developed over the years, because these dancers were with me for 20 years. They were my students, and we had leadership, we had funding, we had developed audiences, but here in Southern California, that really doesn't exist.”

What also doesn’t exist these days is the New World Flamenco Festival at the Irvine Barclay Theater, which was co-founded by Yaelisa, who was also the artistic director. Running from 2001-2008, the festival was an international model of success, both critically and artistically, and brought a diverse range of flamenco companies from Spain to Irvine, California. Among the performers were Compañía Maria José Franco, Compañía Juan Ogalla and the solo artist Israel Galván, often dubbed the Nijinsky of flamenco.

“The festival was a touchstone for people,” Yaelisa recalled. “It was the first time on the West coast that there was a serious and highly curated flamenco festival bringing people from Spain every year for three weekends. It was astounding that it took off and created audiences that wanted to see more. It was great for the local flamenco community, but after the 2008 market crash, it sort of collapsed, too.”

Fast forward to 2026, and Yaelisa explained that, “because there is no functioning, either nonprofit, or for-profit flamenco organization, or major company, the institutional support doesn't exist. It has to be created by individuals, for example, Naranjita.”

Owned and run by Justine Grover, Naranjita Flamenco Dance Studio, in Orange, CA, offers an array of classes, including those taught by Yaelisa, as well as a monthly tablao. Seating 60 people, Naranjita is featuring performers from Spain and Mexico on August 21-22.

“When people see quality and authentic flamenco, they want to see more,” noted Yaelisa. “That was the purpose for starting the monthly tableau in this tiny studio where we make it work. We just did our tablao, and I presented emerging and re-emerging dancers. What we try to do every month is feature the best talent that's available, because, literally, it is the only regular show apart from Café Sevilla and the Fountain Theatre.”

At 66, Yaelisa also remains committed to teaching. “I love it almost more than performing, because I offer a full background in the art form that includes the singing, the guitar, how it works together, the structure. The training I’m offering my students is high-level, though my methodology has always been the same. Because I also sing, I help them understand the nuances of flamenco and give them performances opportunities.”

Needless to say, the economy isn’t helpful, and the distances between cities, cites Yaelisa, “also makes it harder to cultivate people, to focus on flamenco when they’re trying to get home from work. The devotion I used to see in the Bay Area and what probably existed here 20 years ago, has dissipated. Life has become difficult and complex. I’m a serious teacher and not into “franchise” flamenco, where you farm out your work to hundreds of students.

“That’s not my thing,” she added. “I’m all about the cultural aspect that has to be handed down to these students, so they understand the art form in a well-rounded way. It’s not just about technique or steps; it requires knowledge of music, rhythm, and how, like in jazz, all the artists work together, so I try to offer my students that.”

From left: David Morales Boroff, Lakshmi Basile "La Chimi," and Juan Murube perform at Flamenco Intimo at the Charade Speakeasy, San Diego. Photograph courtesy of Lakshmi Basile

Another fixture in the SoCal scene is California-born Lakshmi Basile “La Chimi.” At 44, she built her career in Sevilla, Spain, and currently lives in San Diego. Over the years she has performed throughout Europe and, at one point, had a troupe, Luna Flamenco Dance Company. A regular performer at the Fountain Theatre for years, Basile will be the artistic director of Forever Flamenco for the November concert.

Born to an Argentinean Paraguayan mother and an American father with Czech roots who performed as the Electrocarpathians, Basile was one of the first and only foreign artists in Spain to win a coveted national prize, the Concurso de las Minas de La Unión (2011), and was also awarded the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba. She appeared with her parents onstage at age six, eventually moving to Spain at age 20 to complete her flamenco studies.

Still traveling to Spain several months out of the year, Basile also teaches and performs monthly at Flamenco Intimo at Charade, a speakeasy near downtown San Diego. From her vantage point, Basile believes that the health of the SoCal flamenco community “depends on where you’re at. I don’t think it’s better or worse; I think it’s kind of the same that it’s always been. If you’re generalizing, there’s been pockets where it’s like, “Wow, now it got really strong,” and it was strong for maybe X amount of time.

“I’m saying that there’s waves, there’s rachas—phases—where it’s been stronger or weaker. What makes flamenco strong is it’s constantly changing. What makes it change is the important thing to note. Because what makes it strong is when the community comes together, and then there’s some kind of consciousness—the depth of the art form and how important it is to learn from others.”

Basile pointed out that the Sarah Parra Flamenco Dance in Long Beach and Naranjita, “bring in guest artists,” and that, “if there’s a weakness in flamenco in California, I don’t think it has to do with flamenco, but the American lifestyle, and capitalism more than anything. When there’s a mix of communities, when artists come in, whether from Spain or nationally, people are learning.”

Bucking the current odds of having the means to import talent, Basile founded the non-profit Alma Flamenca, which translates as “flamenco soul,” an organization that presents shows, workshops and lectures. But not having her own space, Basile makes use of different places for live performances, including at the Turquoise Café-Bar Europa in Pacific Beach, and at the Normal Heights Community Center.

“My non-profit organization has been putting on one to three events a month that are flamenco-oriented. When I was able to get it off its feet, and to get money to bring in artists, whether nationally or internationally—and we’ve done both at this point—it made a huge difference. I thrive when I have other good flamencans around me. And if I’m the only one a little more knowledgeable, the others learn more because they have more references, so everyone thrives.”

Basile added that, “it’s not something that is already in our culture. We have to find the little cultural pockets that exist here or bring the culture to us. And that’s what happens here in San Diego.”

While not exactly considered Southern California, Santa Barbara is home to the non-profit organization, Flamenco! Santa Barbara, which offers year-round performances at various theaters and clubs, as well as student scholarships and educational programming. Its artistic director is the internationally renown María “LA Chacha” Bermúdez, who works in partnership with Timo Nuñez Arte Flamenco.

If her name sounds familiar, Bermúdez has graced such venues as the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall and New York’s Lincoln Center. The good news is that she’ll be at the Ford Amphitheatre September 12 with dancers from Spain and California in a program called, “Convivencias,” Spanish for coexistence or building of community.

And it’s the idea of community that will help further the flamenco culture, with Basile saying, “Collaborations are going to be important. Schools are important. People in general need to stop worrying about not wanting to combine forces [and] not being open to the idea of collaboration in general. It’s really important for bettering the ecosystem here, as well as having bigger companies or institutions discovering an interest in flamenco.

“That’s going to happen,” added Basile with determination, “when they see good quality flamenco.”

Indeed, with its fiery footwork, rhythmic hand clapping and raspy-throated singing and guitar playing that can veer from sensuous to scorching—flamenco, when performed by true artists, not only has the power to exist in a profound and mystical place, but can be a transformational experience for an audience, as well. In other words, flamenco is out there if you know where to look, so go get your “duende” on!

Victoria Looseleaf

Victoria Looseleaf is an award-winning, Los Angeles-based international arts journalist who covers music and dance festivals around the world. Among the many publications she has contributed to are the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Dance Magazine and KCET’s Artbound. In addition, she taught dance history at USC and Santa Monica College. Looseleaf’s novella-in-verse, Isn't It Rich? is available from Amazon, and and her latest book, Russ & Iggy’s Art Alphabet with illustrations by JT Steiny, was recently published by Red Sky Presents. Looseleaf can be reached through X, Facebook, Instagram and Linked In, as well as at her online arts magazine ArtNowLA.

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Flamenco Soul

Victoria Looseleaf

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Featured

Flamenco Soul

Dance and the Metropolis

Lost Time

Vow of Stability