Renowned flamenco dancer in town for one-night performance

One of Spain’s top flamenco dancers arrived in Manila with her 19-member troupe yesterday afternoon for a one-night-only performance at the Cultural Center of the Philippines tonight.

Aida Gomez stepped out of Singapore Airlines flight SQ 72 from Singapore, which landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 1:25 p.m., wearing spectacles and an all-black outfit. She walked through the concourse and immigration and customs area while gamely posing for the airport media who awaited her arrival.

Gomez and her company of 19 dancers were welcomed by former Spanish ambassador to Manila Jose "Pepe" Rodriguez, who is now director of event organizer Instituto Cervantes in Manila.

The STAR is one of the show’s chief sponsors.

Speaking to reporters through Rodriguez, Gomez said she was looking forward to performing in Manila tonight.

"I hope Manila will enjoy our performance," Rodriguez quoted Gomez as saying in Spanish.

Instituto Cervantes organized the visit and one-night performance of Gomez and her Flamenco Ballet in their interpretation of the classic opera "Carmen" at 8 p.m. tonight at the CCP Main Theater.

The performance will be the main attraction of the month-long FIESTA! 2006, the Spanish Festival for Culture and the Arts, that had a grand launch last Oct. 3 via an inaugural opening of the 5th Spanish film festival at Greenbelt 3 in the Ayala Center in Makati City.

Gomez, it was learned, is the youngest ever artistic director of the Spanish National Ballet. She was awarded the Premio Nacional de Danza (National Prize for Dance) in 2004 and was featured in the film "Iberia" together with another Spanish dance icon, Sara Baras, who wowed Manila dance and culture lovers in last year’s edition of FIESTA!

In "Carmen," she essays the lead role of a captivating gypsy girl who dies a tragic death in the hands of a jealous lover. Her 19-member troupe will perform with panache the other roles in Bizet’s popular opera which was based on the novella of the writer Prosper Merimee.

Blending the genres of travelogue, adventure story and romantic novel, Carmen is a paradigm of 19th century Europe’s fascination with the exotic. — Rainier Allan Ronda