Andrea La Canela shares her passion for the blues of Spain
“A lot of people don’t know, but the Bay Area has quite an extensive following of flamenco,” says veteran performer and educator Andrea La Canela. “In the United States, it’s one of the centers where a lot of guitarists and dancers and singers are. We’re really lucky that way.”
La Canela began studying flamenco over 30 years ago. Now based in Marin, she regularly performs and teaches classes locally, though her flamenco career has taken her across the globe, including a two-year sailing journey to Spain in 2006.
“We took off for Spain, and performed wherever we went,” says La Canela, who embarked on the trip with her musical partner at the time. Eventually, they settled in Rota, Spain, and immersed themselves in flamenco culture for over a year.
“Music is a wonderful way to travel,” La Canela says.
Describing flamenco as haunting and beautiful, La Canela brought her passion with her when she returned to the Bay Area in 2008. In addition to performing at parties and wineries throughout the North Bay, La Canela hosts a regular flamenco show at the Sausalito Seahorse on the third Thursday of the month, and teaches dance at venues like Marin Ballet in San Rafael and Knights of Columbus Hall in San Anselmo. Her next session of kids classes begins Sept. 19.
“Flamenco is very ancient,” La Canela says, “and it deals with all the emotional scale that a human being has. It’s the blues of Spain.”
Andrea La Canela performs at 8pm, Aug. 16, at the Sausalito Seahorse (305 Harbor View Drive, Sausalito; $10; 415.331.2899) and leads her next flamenco class at 4:30pm, Aug. 19, at Marin Ballet (100 Elm St., San Rafael; $15). andrealacanela.webs.com.
