The series of concerts and workshops, free to attend, is titled ‘Flamenco Sem Fronteiras’ and is described as “a cultural inclusion project that uses music as a tool for inclusion and dialogue” between Roma and non-Roma communities in Portuguese society.
The project is supported by the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA) and begins on September 5 at the Olga Cadaval Cultural Center in Sintra.
On stage, the Roma singer Diego El Gavi will perform in a quintet format, accompanied by musicians Sina Shirazi (flamenco guitar), Pedro Aguilar Corrales (bass), Sebastian Scheriff (drums), and Carlos Mil-Homens (percussion).
Diego El Gavi will perform the album ‘Puerta del alma’ (2019) and new tracks from an upcoming album, blending flamenco and Latin jazz and “reflecting his musical history and that of the musicians accompanying him,” according to a press release.
Each concert is paired with a flamenco workshop, both theoretical and practical, open to spectators over the age of 12.
After the concert in Sintra, the ‘Flamenco Sem Fronteiras’ project will be at the Joaquim Benite Municipal Theatre (Almada) on September 12, at the IPDJ auditorium of Faro on September 19, and at Theatro Gil Vicente de Barcelos on November 28.
In addition to these concerts, Diego El Gavi has a performance scheduled on September 6 at the Festa do Avante (Seixal, Setúbal).
Diego El Gavi, of Roma heritage, hails from Lisbon. He lived in Madrid, where he was exposed to the flamenco language and culture, and in Porto, where he developed an interest in “the sound arts of his ethnicity, owing much to a cassette by the Gipsy Kings given by his mother,” as noted in the promoter’s biography page.
In his youth, Diego El Gavi created the project Les Gitanes, where he, along with his cousins, performed flamenco song versions. He later composed original works, releasing his first album ‘Puerta del Alma’ in 2019, featuring musicians Tatanka, Ricardo Ribeiro, and Paulo de Carvalho.
Committed to integrating the Roma community into society, Diego El Gavi also collaborated with documentarian Tiago Pereira on the project ‘A Música Cigana a Gostar Dela Própria’.
