EXLCUSIVE ’24/7 VALENCIA’ INTERVIEW WITH LUCERITO DE LAS MARISMAS: FLAMENCO DANCER, SINGER AND CABARET STAR
In the next two months, Valencia will play host to the Panorama Flamenco Autumn Festival, featuring a wide array of talented singers, guitarists and musicians including Tomasito, El Capulla de Jerez and Marúja Limon.Opening the festival this Saturday, November 5th at 19.30h is Valencian singer and dancer Lucerito de las Marismas, at Valencia’s iconic 16 Toneladas club, who we have an exclusive interview with.
24/7 Valencia: How does it feel to be starting the ‘Panorama Flamenco’ festival this year and what can people look forward to in your show this Saturday?
Lucerito de las Marismas: I feel a great responsibility in starting the festival, as I’m the only Valencian performing, and I have to set the bar high, because there are some amazing artists coming to perform. I want to leave my mark. I think the audience is going to have a great time, I have new stuff ready and I’m looking forward to interacting with the public. One of the things I like most is getting up on stage and connecting with the audience, making sure they enjoy themselves and that they become emotional. I have songs that come from the heart and I love singing from the heart as well. I love when people come up to me after the show and tell me that I made them cry. Art moves and incites people’s emotions.
I think they’re going to see a very cool performance with some amazing musicians; Juan del Pilar on the guitar, Manuel Quintero on percussion, Lucia Marin on the violin and Jessica Sanchez dancing. There’s going to be lots of movement, light, colour and music, and live music is pure gold, which we have been lacking.
How is the artistic/music scene recovering in Valencia after the pandemic?
I thought it would be much more costly for it to recover. We’ve suffered an awful two years, but people seem to be returning to theatres with confidence. Live music and culture is so important, without it our heads get empty. Live performances also give us the chance to connect with people and share opinions: to talk, connect and understand each other. We went so long without it. Also there is so much emotion in dance and music, which is not just in my voice, which you need to see live to appreciate.
What is still lacking is support. Getting opportunities to perform is hard, for example getting on television shows is expensive, and I’d like to thank my agent Adriana for supporting me and showing me that my work is valued.
What made you fall in love with flamenco?
Since I was child, I’ve always been fascinated by the music, the dance and with the whole art form. My grandmother showed me flamenco. I am Valencian but I’ve always been attracted to the South, its music and culture. So when I started training as a dancer I chose to dedicate myself to Spanish music and dance, flamenco in particular.
What was the moment you knew you were going to become a dancer
I’ve known all my life that I want to be an artist. As a child I wanted to be an artist, I danced, I sang, I dressed up and performed. The thing was at that time it wasn’t as valued as it is now. My mother signed me up for football or basketball, trying to get me interested in sports, before she would consider signing me up to dance classes. It wasn’t well seen [for a boy] to be in dance classes.
I’ve always been a dancer and my professional training was in dance, although I’ve always sung and loved singing. I trained in classical, contemporary and lots of other different styles and then specialised in flamenco, while still dancing modern and contemporary because I love all types of dance. I’ve also trained as an actor and in musical theatre. But flamenco has always been part of my essence.
Have these other styles influenced your current style of flamenco?
Yes, when I dance, I dance flamenco, but when I’m on stage I’m very loose and relaxed as I’ve performed in theatre and cabaret and as a result of this. I also love interacting with the audience, telling stories, getting a smile and a laugh. I don’t have any prejudices because of my broad training, I do what I want regardless of what people think. I will use a fan in my performances even if some people say that it’s for girls. It doesn’t matter to me. I do what I enjoy and people enjoy watching me have fun.
Flamenco fusion has become much more common/popular these days, with some artists including elements of rock and roll or hip hop. How do you think this mixing of genres contributes to the art form?
Everything that is art supports and attributes to art. I’m not prejudiced. Anything that is mixed with flamenco only serves to support the art form. People can have their tastes, whether they prefer different styles of flamenco, serious, fun, commercial etc, but that’s just their tastes. I also think that the mixing of genres gives people the opportunity to listen to flamenco that may not have listened to it before. This gives it life. Everything that people can do with this art form only adds to it, whether that is more or less modern or creative. You have to bring new things to flamenco but also recover old elements because there are styles that were very beautiful, which are not played anymore.
How would you describe Valencia, both as a city and in its relationship to flamenco and its broader arts scene?
Valencia is an amazing city. I have travelled all around the world on tour, and Valencia is still a fantastic place to live. It has energy, life, culture, theatres and music halls. Valencia is a community of artists and produces great musicians, dancers and singers. I don’t want to leave Valencia, I’ve done my travelling and I love it here. I hope that my homeland will value my work and I don’t have to travel for it.
What would you recommend to people on their first time visiting Valencia?
Take a walk through the old town; Plaza de la Reina, Plaza de la Virgen, El Carmen. It sounds very typical but is beautifully lit up. You should also take along the River Turia gardens, and visit El Palmar. There is so much to see here.
How would you describe a flamenco show to someone who has never seen one before?
It is power and elegance, emotion, movement, very alive, intense both in its slowness and its speed, joyful and sad. Flamenco has many contradictions. Even if you have never seen one, if you watch one it will move you, as it has a lot of intensity.
24/7 VALENCIA: Saturday is shaping up to be an incredible event, a fitting opening for Panorama Flamenco’s Autumn Festival. I am lucky enough to be going. I hope to see you there.
Report by Danny Weller
Article copyright 24/7 Valencia
LUCERITO DE LAS MARISMAS
November 5th (Saturday)
19h
16 Toneladas
Carrer de Ricardo Micó, 3 (46009) València, Valencia
Phone: +34 963 49 45 84
Tickets are available at
https://movingtickets.com/Entradas-Lucerito-de-Las-Marismas-concierto-en-Valencia/
To find out more about Lucerito: https://www.instagram.com/luceritodelasmarismas/
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