Classes of Indian Fandango with Faustino Núñez
by Ana María Ruimonte
Oranges are yellow, and lemons, the color of sugarcane and, in the middle of the Antilles, is the heart of Spain. Cuban Guajira.
In Sep 17 in the youtube live channel, the Cuban Cultural Center of New York, together with the Instituto Cervantes, presented the documentary “Music between Spain and Cuba: A Round Trip” by the Spanish musicologist Faustino Núñez.
Passionate, very interesting and very well documented, the maestro Faustino explained to us that after the discovery of the “New World”, Spain took to Cuba the music from the three cultures that lived in the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th C. There, music blended with music’s from the Indians and African people. They took the romance with them which returned, in successive round trips between Cuba and Spain, while transforming and evolving through 500 years.
Zarabande, chacona, jopeo, zerengue, tonadillas, fandangos, habaneras, malagueñas, tarantas, punto de la habanera, guajira, tientos, zapateados, farrucas, pasodobles… Faustino Núñez shows us how the flamenco comes from the Indian fandango. And how, at the same time, the classical music was influenced by these dances. There are a lot of examples in the compositions by great classical musicians such as Bizet, Falla, Montsalvatge, Albéniz or Scarlatti. Same happened in the compositions of zarzuelas or musical theater that the theatrical companies brought and took from America to Spain. Indeed, the popular flamenco rumba came from the guaracha.
Faustino Núñez studied cello, singing, composition, guitar and musicology in Madrid and Vienna. He travelled to Havana to research with his admired maestro Danilo Orozco. He is a writer specialized in flamenco, record producer, professor and researcher.
The video is available in the CCCNY youtube channel in the link:
https://youtu.be/P2kwnEH5xA4
Nowadays, during the pandemic, the maestro Faustino Núñez presents conferences and flamenco courses online via ZOOM. We can attend the next one on 
Friday, Oct. 18 at 10 AM, Eastern Time. For more information: www.cursosflamencopolis.com
About the author: Ana María Ruimonte is a CNY Latino writer and Parma Records Artist. She has been a contributing writer since 2015. She is a Spanish classical singer naturalized in the US, specialized in lyrical theatre. She recorded several CDs in Cuba and the United States titled “Rosas para Lecuona” (Roses for Lecuona), “Con Rodrigo en Cuba” (With Rodrigo in Cuba), “Sencillamente Martí”, “Alma y Vida de Mujer” (The Soul and Life of a Woman), “Arded, Corazón, Arded” (Burn, Heart, Burn). She now resides in Phoenix and shares about her most recent CD by Ansonica Records. You can contact Ana Maria going to www.ruimonte.sitehappy.com or to www.owlsong.com