The Jerez de la Frontera, on Calle Diego Fernández Herrera, has been inaugurated the Espacio Expoflamenco, a center to support and promote flamenco culture, which is also a store for the jondo genre. I don’t know if the land of Chacón and Manuel Torres are aware of the effort our portal is making for flamenco art in this beautiful city of Cádiz. This space, which will be coordinated by comrade José María Castaño, wants to belong to all Jerez residents who love our art, to be open for presentations of records, books, conferences, gatherings, study days and meetings of artists and fans.

We are aware that it is not something easy due to the idiosyncrasy of Jerez and the flamencos of the city. The old flamenco art is so important in Jerez –it is still the best pool of artists in Andalusia– that sometimes they get in each other’s way. Being from the Plazuela is not like being from Santiago or San Miguel, as happens in Seville with Triana or the Macarena, the Alameda or the Barrio de la Feria. Perhaps a neutral site was needed in Jerez, a space that stays away from neighborhood trends or localisms. Jerez has an impressive historical heritage, and a roster of artists unmatched by any other place in the world where flamenco exists.

«If Jerez needed a different cultural center, neutral, open to all, our space could be that perfectly. The owners of Expoflamenco love Jerez without fissures and that effort should be rewarded not with official distinctions, but by the flamenco people of Jerez themselves»

Our new cultural space will be open to everyone and we would like the flamenco people themselves, be they artists or fans, to consider the venue as their own. This also goes for the institutions of Jerez. We are equally open to them, so they can organize whatever they want, as long as they are flamenco acts that promote art in this city. We want to provide this service to Jerez and the flamencos, without getting into the character of each one of them, the rivalry between neighborhoods or what concerns the different flamenco ideologies of this land.

If Jerez needed a different cultural center, neutral, open to all, our space could be that perfectly. Both Mitch and Jafelin, owners of ExpoFlamenco, thought of something like this when they decided to create the cultural space in this city and not in Cádiz, Málaga or Seville. They love Jerez without fissures and that effort should be rewarded not with official distinctions, but by the flamenco people of Jerez themselves. Let them know that it will be everyone’s home, if they want it, and that we will have a future if they really want it and open their hearts to us.

Expoflamenco Space
Ramos Building – C/ Diego Fernández Herrera, 6
11401 Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz
Phone: 956 104 774
Hours: Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.