As part of their 2023 Summer Season, Casa Flamenca is proud to bring to Santa Fe their stunning production of "Maestros," featuring two of Spain's finest flamenco artists. Called "living legends" by the international press, these performers are acknowledged as masters of the art form. Presented in collaboration with AMP Concerts, "Maestros" is a gutsy and emotionally exuberant show, filled with all the power and passion of flamenco at its very best.

Baile: Alejandro Granados, Carmen Ledesma, Valeria "La Chispa" Montes
Cante: Sebastian Sanchez
Guitarra: Juani de la Isla

Alejandro Granados is known for his charismatic performances which transmit, above all, his respect for the solemnity and simplicity of flamenco movement, both on the stage and within the daily life of Spanish culture. He is a flamenco artist at the pinnacle of that art form and is considered a living example of the fusion between "purity" and "modernity." Alejandro was born in Madrid in 1961 and has enjoyed an illustrious career as an artist of first rank, particularly during his tenure as a member of the Ballet Nacional de España. He is highly regarded both as a choreographer and a performer and has worked with some of the finest flamenco artists in Spain and internationally.

Carmen Ledesma's remarkable career began in 1960, with her debut at only four years old. In 1963, she was awarded the Juana la Macarrona prize at the National Competition of Flamenco Arts in Cordoba. She worked alongside Antonio Gades at the National Ballet of Spain, as well as prestigious flamenco companies such as Mario Maya, Farruco, and Curro Velez. She trained under the legendary Enrique el Cojo, and was accompanied by famous Cantaores such as Camaron de la Isla, Naranjito de Triana, Lebrijano, and Jose Menese. Ledesma, with her unique style, is one of today's most highly recognized dancers and performers of the Sevillian dance of flamenco. She is a strong advocate of the pure flamenco dance art form and is known and recognized as a living legend.

Valeria Montes has been described as "mesmerizing" by the Detroit Free Press and "beauty in motion" by the Metro Times. She is known as La Chispa (the Spark) for her passionate and vibrant interpretation of Cante Flamenco (flamenco song) and for her complex rhythmic zapateado. In 2010, Montes won the prestigious Kresge artist fellowship for Performing Arts. She is co-founder of the Center of Music and Performing Arts Southwest (COMPAS), and she serves as Executive and Artistic Director of Casa Flamenca in Albuquerque, where she is also a full-time instructor.

Flamenco singer Sebastian Sanchez was born in 1995 in Puerto de Santa María on the southern coast of Spain in the province of Cádiz, birthplace of many legendary flamenco singers. When he was two years of age, Sebastian began listening to and clapping out the complex rhythms of flamenco. His father Vicente Sanchez accompanied him on the guitar, both in his practice sessions and early performances. It is from this experience that he developed his life-long love for the flamenco guitar, which he learned to play to accompany himself in his studies of flamenco singing or, as it is called in Spain, "el cante." Sebastian has traveled the width and length of Spain, performing in venues as diverse as flamenco peñas, flamenco clubs and large theaters.

Juani de la Isla (Juan Francisco Gonzalez Caballero) is a highly respected flamenco guitarist, from the island of San Fernando near the port city of Cádiz in southern Spain. He began his musical education studying with the great flamenco singer Rafael Romero and has been a student of the celebrated flamenco guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar. Juani de la Isla has also been trained in the gypsy flamenco style of "Morón"—a small pueblo in the heart of Andalucía's flamenco country. Juani de la Isla's recording career includes participation on more than 300 albums with some of Spain's finest flamenco artists. In 2015, he released his first solo CD "Libertad En Mis Manos."