Professional flamenco artists have been invited to the tablao Casa de la Memoria, in Seville, on January 21st — the same day of Antonio Chacón’s death in 1929 —  for an information session regarding the project of issuing professional flamenco artist IDs, like in the old days. This is an initiative of the Escuela de Flamenco de Andalucía (EFA), which has over 80 affiliated flamenco academies all over the world. Many flamenco professionals were demanding some kind of regulation in the industry and they’ll now have the opportunity to take part in this project, providing whatever feedback they consider appropriate for the success of this initiative.

People have been complaining for a long time about unqualified artists performing in flamenco events, in the sense that nowadays just about anyone can get on a stage and charge for singing, dancing or playing the guitar. Perhaps this is something that always happened, but several decades ago, flamenco artists were syndicated and had their own artist IDs, which were only issued after passing a test before a jury of renowned flamenco masters such as Pepe Pinto, Niña de los Peines or Manuel Centeno in Seville’s San Fernando Theater or in any other theater in the city.

What exactly is this initiative of the Escuela Flamenca de Andalucía, a non-profit organization? The aim is to issue an ID card for flamenco art professionals associated with EFA and, for a fee of 100 euros per year, enjoy multiple benefits, such as legal assistance in case of conflict with any company, notification of work opportunities matching their skills, have increased exposure in a website with international reach, get discounts when travelling in Spain’s flag carrier airline, Iberia, and access free courses to hone their skills. In summary, not being helpless.

Ideally, all professionals in the industry would become members in order to have a strong voice before the public institutions, and EFA trusts that this will happen. However, it’s understandable that people may have doubts and questions, so the reason for meeting with the artists on January 21^st at 12:30 PM in Casa de la Memoria is to allow everyone to freely express their opinions or misgivings and discuss them with all attendees. Other meetings will be also held in all provinces of Andalusia, as well as in Madrid and Barcelona, certainly during major festivals, such as those of Jerez or La Unión.

All flamenco professional artists of Seville will be invited, since the first meeting will take place in the capital of Andalusia, but any artist can attend, regardless of where they are from or where they live.

Old artist ID belonging to the great Bambino.