Elena Andujar @RShotel for the love of New York and Flamenco!
Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by DanielKalmar in Art at Roger Smith, Arts
We became friends with Elena initially through the Iberian Festival, which was an annual Spanish cultural event, held at the Rog, that featured culinary superstars such as Santi Santamaria, the Cándidos and their Cochinillos, Don Felix Duran from the paradisiacal Pyrenean town of El Quer Foradat and many, many more. With Elena’s collaboration, the festival evolved from a primarily culinary event to a broader celebration of Spanish culture and a new focus on flamenco and on Andalucia in general.
She arrived in NY that year – almost 10 years ago – with her nine year old son, Antonio, in tow and moved in to the Roger Smith for a month. During the festival, Elena sang and danced a few nights per week, with little Antonio attending each tablao and occasionally stepping out to dance a few moves or drum on the cajón…a crowd-pleasing foreshadow of the talent he would later develop! When he wasn’t performing with his mom, he would cruise the hotel, a relative Eloise let loose in a new a fabulous place, full of interesting things and people.
Elena Andujar, born of a Sevillana and a New Yorker, uses flamenco to bridge the cultures that she represents. Her work includes festivals, self-produced espectáculos, master classes and even early-stage plans to make a movie of her life story, set here and there. Her bigscreen career began when she was cast in the movie Devil’s Advocate along with flamenco great, Tomatito, to perform with Al Pacino.
So…as we knock around the idea of reviving the Iberian Festival, we’d love to hear your feedback! Let us know your thoughts!
