By Kirk Boxleitner

Port Townsend will get to sample a taste of authentic flamenco song and dance Saturday, March 16, at 8 p.m., when the Eaglemount Winery and Cidery at 1893 S. Jacob Miller Rd. hosts “Volar, Flamenco en Vivo,” presented by Seattle-based flamenco dancer Savannah Fuentes and, direct from Seville, singer and multi-instrumentalist Diego Amador Jr.

Fuentes explained that “volar” means “to fly” in Spanish, and thus, “It represents our basic human need to feel free, to spread our wings, to make our own choices, and to reach our highest potential, not just for ourselves, but for every living being.”

Fuentes and Amador have performed together throughout not only Washington state, but also Oregon and California since 2019, with Amador hailing from a family famous for fusing flamenco with blues, jazz and salsa music.

Diego’s father is flamenco pianist and composer Diego Amador Sr., while his uncles are Rafael and Raimundo Amador, who formed the group Pata Negra together.

The 29-year-old Amador is a guitarist who also plays piano, bass and percussion, and he recently released his first full-length album, “Presente en el Tiempo.”

As for Fuentes, she bills herself as the only other touring artist in the Pacific Northwest with “deep connections” to flamenco culture.

“Unfortunately, flamenco is not really part of American dance culture,” said Fuentes, who was born in Seattle to parents of Puerto Rican and Irish ancestry. “It’s not something you can really learn in social settings here. It’s more serious and methodical than that.”

Fuentes credits her career of independently producing and dancing in more than 400 flamenco performances and workshops to the fascination with flamenco dance (baile) and singing (cante) she gained after watching a flamenco performance on television during her youth.

“I was just a child, but I felt an immediate connection to the art form,” said Fuentes, who considers flamenco a lifelong study, and an artistic journey upon which she embarked on in earnest during her late teens. “That doesn’t mean I could just pick it up, because flamenco is very specialized, with different time measurements than I was accustomed to from American music.”

Indeed, part of why Fuentes feels compelled to share her flamenco performances throughout the Pacific Northwest is because she wishes she’d been able to see such live, in-person performances of flamenco when she was a little girl.

Another reason Fuentes continues to pursue and perform flamenco is because of how “cathartic” she finds it, as an experience, with the percussive footwork of her dancing and the “deep emotional impact” of flamenco songs.

“The first time I sat in on a live flamenco performance, I was blown away by the power of it,” Fuentes said. “It’s not like listening to an album at home. I want to produce that same kind of energy, and hopefully inspire others as much as this music inspired me. I love to see people come together in appreciating this art form.”

Tickets are available at ticketleap.com and
savannahf.com online.