Albuquerque is the Flamenco Capital of North America, with multiple ways for people to experience this powerful art form. One organization that offers an intimate flamenco experience is Casa Flamenca, where Carmen Montes is the executive and artistic director.
Carmen has danced since she was a little girl, but it wasn’t until she was in her 20s that she began pursuing flamenco.
“I saw flamenco for the first time, and I looked at this grown adult, heavy-built woman, and I thought, ‘Whatever that is, I want. Whatever that feeling is, I want it,’” she said.
That began her flamenco journey. Carmen moved to Spain for a few years to study flamenco and worked in Detroit performing flamenco before moving to Albuquerque to work for Casa Flamenca.
Casa Flamenca’s performance space is located inside a cozy house near historic Old Town, with artists in residence from Spain. Performances happen inside at the tablao, where guests experience flamenco dances just inches away from them. Casa Flamenca recently got a facelift thanks to grant funding from Visit Albuquerque, with a renovated outside stage and indoor space to better showcase the flamenco performers.
“It's important to present good flamenco with a good singer, with good dancers, with great musicians, and not just wing it,” Carmen said. “I want every night to be an amazing night for audiences.”
But, it takes a lot of work to bring top-tier flamenco artists to Albuquerque.
“This small organization is as you see it, and it takes a lot of effort to bring artists,” Carmen said. “We're talking about visas, travels, artists, contracts, housing for the artists and getting funding so we can bring amazing flamenco.”
Despite doing so much work behind the scenes, Carmen is still a dancer, first and foremost.
“You have to build a lot of background before you can even present anything. And the moment where I dance, it's a triumph, because that's what I am. I'm a dancer.”
She sees Casa Flamenca becoming something larger that people travel from across the country to attend, and is always thinking about how to make Casa Flamenca even better.
“We think about what else we can do,” Carmen said. “What more can we bring to the city? And sometimes you ask yourself, ‘Am I on the right path? Is this the right thing to do?’ But then, you dance, you perform, you see amazing artists in our space, and all of that is so worth it.”
You can see those amazing artists at Casa Flamenca during evening performances from Friday through Sunday. It’s something you can’t experience anywhere else.
“You actually live something that you don't experience somewhere else. And that's what makes us special. It's very personal, it's very flamenco, literally in your face. And it's absolutely beautiful.”
