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Ana La China first studied dancing in Seville with Manolo Marin and Angelita Vargas. She settled down in Granada in 1992, where she worked with Miguel-Angel Cortes, Rafael Habichuela and Jaime Heredia, with whom she gave numerous performances both in Spain and abroad.
In 1993, she began a collaboration with singers Antonio and Manuel Malena and the Jerez musicians, Luis de la Tota and Domingo Rubichi. In 1995, they created the show «La Route Tzigane,» which was performed in France and Hong Kong together with the Rajastan Manganyiar musicians and the Taraf de Haidouk from Romania.
While peforming in Europe with this group, she regularly taught flamenco in Geneva within the framework of the Ateliers d'ethnomusicologie, as well as in France. The character of Ana's style resides in her great depth of expression, which appears especially in the more classical forms of the baile, the solea, the siguirillas and the bulerias. Although she displays great technical skills, her art leads her to explore a flamenco style dominated by emotion and the pursuit of the duende, that timeless moment of grace that is the core of authentic flamenco.
JOSÉ SANTIAGO "de la Negreta" was born in Marseille in 1965. His family had gipsy origins and originally came from Almeria. His father, a reputed juergas singer, introduced him to his family tradition at a very early age. He came first in Nîmes Cante Flamenco contest in 1995, and won the attention of the professional scene. Since then, he has been a regular guest of the Mont-de-Marsan festival, the emblematic highlight of modern flamenco.
His exceptional talent as a guitarist completes his amazing artistic skills. In 1996, he participated in the recording of guitarist Juan Carmona Borboreo's album, and performed with the greatest artists of the flamenco scene: the singers La Susi, Chano Lobato, El Lebrijano, the guitarists Moraito Chico, Juan Carmona, and the dancers Concha Varga and Carmen Ledesma.
His great subtlety and the expressive depth of his singing have already earned him a place among those few great promising talents who have succeeded in endowing classical flamenco with their personal expression. The originality of his interpretation and his gift for duende reveal the richness of his art and make him shine on the international scene. In 2002 he recorded the album "Sueno Gitano" (Ethnomad / Arion).
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