Montserrat Andreys moved from Chicago to study flamenco at UNM, where the dance program has gained notoriety through the annual Festival Flamenco Internacional de Albuquerque.
"I found a Web site about the festival, and the info in the festival led me to find the flamenco program at UNM," Andreys said. "Who knew such a thing existed? It was incredible.. Albuquerque has been referred to as the Seville of the United Sates because the flamenco culture here is so strong."
But to the dismay of flamenco performers and enthusiasts worldwide, this year's June festival has been cut because there's not enough financial support to pay its $500,000 price tag.
The UNM flamenco dancers held a demonstration outside of Carlisle Gym on Wednesday to gather signatures for a petition encouraging President David Schmidly to take a more vested financial interest in the festival.
"The initiative shown by the community to have this festival ongoing for 22 years shows a deep interest," Andreys said. "In a university setting, where we really value academics and people progress on an intellectual level, one of the things that really binds people together is culture. And this flamenco program is so far-reaching in the community that it brings together and gives a cultural face to the New Mexican community, considering its Spanish heritage."
Marisol Encinias, who teaches flamenco at UNM, said the festival flies in between 50 to 70 artists from Spain each year. Encinias' mother, Eva, started the festival 22 years ago, and her grandmother taught flamenco in Albuquerque long before that.
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"The best flamenco artists in the world come here and perform," Encinias said. "It's the most elite flamenco dancers that come here, and people come from all around the country and the world to study and attend. We hold workshops and performances for 10 days."
Carlos Menchaca moved here from San Antonio, Texas, in 2006 to study with the Encinias family after meeting them through their dance company, Yjastros. He will start his UNM dance education this fall.
"Yjastros came to San Antonio and I saw them there," he said. "And because of Yjastros I came to the festival. Because of the festival I moved to Albuquerque. I've grown up dancing flamenco. I've studied with all different kinds of people all over the United States. And in Albuquerque they offer the best training."
Andreys said it's unbalanced that UNM would plaster pictures of flamenco dancers all over its Web site to advertise itself.
"When it comes time to support the department, that enthusiasm to put flamenco at the forefront isn't expressed in the same way," she said. "When something is used in an advertisement, it shows it's important. A lot of times these cultural markers are used that way, but not supported financially."
Encinias said her mother took out a mortgage on her house one year to finance the festival.
"For people who know flamenco, our festival is a real big deal," she said. "We now need it to be a real big deal to the University and to everybody who lives here."
