A short time ago in an interview with Spanish television, we heard you say that your uncle in Cordoba gave you your first dance instruction.

My uncle was the one who introduced me to the world of dance. I grew up with my parents and grandparents, and my "uncle" was like a hero because when he came home from touring, the family would gather to see him. He brought presents for everyone and so I said from a young age, "I want to be like him when I grow up". I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a bit of a smart aleck and began to dance a lot. I enrolled in dance academies in Madrid, and later all the rest happened. I began to travel all over the world and, 12 years ago, I first created my own shows, producing and choreographing them.

When you arrived in Madrid and entered the Ballet Nacional, my guess is you would have had very good teachers and directors.

Yes, above all choreographers, daily classes and touring all over. Indeed I was fortunate enough to be part of the Ballet Nacional during one of the best times of in its history, when María de Avila was director.

Later, when you created your own company, you said you created it out of nothing.

I'll tell you the story even though it is very long. I think that like everyone who comes from humble beginnings, the middle class and not having anything, to put together one's own company is an impossible project. What happened was that I had the good fortune to take part in an important gala in Paris featuring major dance figures like Maya Plitseskaya and Julio Boca. I was lucky enough that it was a success. Then the director of the theater came to me and asked, "Do you have a company, a show?" I said, yes, though obviously I didn't have one. "Would you like the theater for a week?" Again I told him yes, and then I embarked on a totally surrealist project. I put a show together in two weeks and played the Champs Elysées theater in Paris. That was 12 years ago, and it was a success. Because I didn't have any money, I told everyone -including the musicians who in this instance numbered 15- to dress in black pants and black shirt to look more or less the same. In other words, I put together a show without any type of budget or anything.

You had the artistry and the audacity to do it.

Yes. My return to Spain was a revelation in the world of flamenco… I believe that it is nice to talk about it because this was the beginning of it all.

When did you begin dancing with a bare torso?

Oh… a long time ago, but I believe that in their talk about nude torsos some people are mistaken. I am referring to the purists, when they criticize it. I think that in primitive dance the creators, who were pretty much also the ones dancing, danced with naked torsos. In classical ballet they still dance with a nude torso. Why not in flamenco? When I did it, it created a polemic. I obviously view it as a bit absurd and so there is conflict.

I would imagine that you've always had trouble with purist critics and also with this fusion you do of classic flamenco and modern music. How have you borne the criticism?

I believe that everyone who is revolutionary will always create a polemic or will create conflict between those who support it and those who don't. Twelve years ago when I began this show it was revolutionary and so created a polemic. Time will tell. With time, all will become clear. I've now been at it for 12 year; this is my fourth show and we've toured all over the world. We have, in a certain sense, opened up flamenco to the whole world and this is something I'm proud of, first as Gypsy, and then as someone who loves flamenco culture.

You are, I think we may say, a Gypsy in life, heart and soul. How would you define this Gypsy spirit?

Well more than anything I believe it is the spirit of rebellion. You have to remember that we Gypsies were persecuted, humiliated and mistreated for many centuries. Our only cry and song of liberty was through music and dance. I believe it is a spirit of rebellion to say "here we are". It is our only weapon and this is the message I have taken to the world.

I consider myself a nomad of the twenty-first century, though as a good Gypsy obviously I travel by plane. Before the Gypsies traveled in covered wagons with their cattle and horses. Now things have changed. I look at myself as an ambassador of my country and my culture.

In your productions "Passión Gitana", "Soul", and now "Life", which you are about to premier in Lima, when it is time for you to choreograph, which themes are you trying to address?

I think that more than dealing with a topic or presenting a story, my productions are pure spectacle, pure dance and pure music, cleansed of drama but melded and mixed.

In the film Flamenco by Carlos Saura, you dance a farruca and when, you're done, you finish with an amusing sigh that is very human…

Ha, ha, ha…very human. That pleased me because during filming it was a very natural and human gesture that neither I nor anyone else knew I was going to make. It was something that pleased me because there you see the human aspect. You're dancing, performing and suddenly you're done and its like saying: whew… finished… I couldn't stand the tension any more. And at that moment they left it, and later when we saw it in the movie theater with Carlos, he was good enough to leave it in. I believe that it is a very nice gesture.

In your journeys through the entire world you have encountered quite diverse audiences. Are there differences between them?

I think audiences are the same everywhere. There are two things that I always say about shows: there aren't bad audiences, only bad shows. There isn't a cold audience unless the show isn't good. And there are enthusiastic audiences the world over when a show is good and has quality. I have had the good fortune, thanks be to God, to travel all over the world, to visit five continents, and when a show is good, the public applauds whether they are Spanish, South American, Japanese, Australian, English, German, Russian… If a show is good and has quality, people are going to applaud.

Of all the flamenco palos, which ones do you like the most?

We, that is true Gypsies, always stick to tangos, bulerías, soleá por bulerías, seguiriyas. These are the styles we play the most.

And turning to more personal questions: How would you describe your family life, your relations with your fiends, do you feel like a pater familias?

One of the things I most long for when I am on tour is my family because I'm very close to them. I live with them in a big house in the center of Madrid. I also have the good luck to have many friends. I have four or five close friends. Some I miss when I'm on tour, others travel with me.

Fortune has smiled much on you I would think because of all the effort and work you have put forth. Did you ever imagine when you were a little kid in Cordoba that you would become the idol of flamenco dance?

Not at all. That is the magic of this world; it is like a dream that suddenly becomes reality. We all dream as children of doing something, of having this kind of life. Today I'm a privileged person and I have God to thank for it. There are a lot of people working, killing themselves to accomplish a dream and in my case the dream has come true.

What are the most important characteristics or talents that a flamenco dancer ought to have?

More important than aptitude is feeling. I for example don't consider this life of mine a job, I don't consider myself a worker, I look at myself as an artist in the sense that what I do I do because I feel it, because I live it, because I carry it within me. I believe anybody who wants to be part of this world, which is very hard physically and psychologically, has to feel it and carry it inside of you. You don't have to be born a Gypsy to feel flamenco culture. More than anything, all of a sudden you fall in love with it and if you live it, with time you will get better.

Is it true that when you turn 33 you are going to give up flamenco?

I have always said that some day you have to hang up your dance boots. This year I can hang up my boots as a dancer, but I can continue working as a choreographer and producing shows like I do now. And, I could also get involved with cinema, advertising, and many other things in which I am collaborating.

Finally, you have incorporated the Peruvian cajón into your shows.

Yes, because the Peruvian cajón has become almost more ours than yours, because flamenco has adopted it and this makes me happy and proud. I was one of the pioneers, with Paco de Lucía, to use and popularize the cajón. Now in Spain almost all of the percussionists who work in flamenco and other musical styles perform with cajóns. It is something that makes me very proud, and its true that it now belongs to Spain and flamenco almost more than it does to Peru.

By Lucila Castro de Trelles
Translation: Marie Jost