Flamenco music has been part of Alberto Alabedra’s life long before he began learning how to play it.
His mother originates from Cordoba in Southern Spain, where Flamenco was created. His grandfather is from Seville and was a Flamenco expert. His father, although from the Catalonia part of Barcelona, has family roots in Tunisia many generations removed.
Flamenco is in his blood.
He grew up listening to Rumba Catalana, a Flamenco style native to his hometown Barcelona.
By May of 2012, without a job due to economic crisis, and with dreams of playing music for a living, Alabedra left Barcelona for New York City without much more than his guitar and $300 in his pocket.
Playing guitar since 14 years old, Alabedra explored several genres before settling on Flamenco music.
Shortly after arriving, Alabedra was able to find fellow Spanish emigrant musicians as well as American musicians interested in playing his brand of Flamenco Fusion, as he calls it.
Spain reported the highest number of emigrants in 2011, according to European Commission statistics. In the years since, Spain has seen more citizens leave than arrive, losing about 1.5 percent of the population since 2008, according to Fundacion Alternativas, a Spanish research foundation.
As Alabedra has found out, many of those emigrants landed in New York, and many of them were looking for familiar Spanish sounds.
“It’s big the community of people from Spain, but not musicians,” he said, saying he knew of about 10 people playing Flamenco in New York, not including those in his own group. According to him, there is only one outlet in the city solely dedicated to pure Flamenco music, Alegrias En La Nacional Flamenco Theater on 14th street.
He’s been playing shows consistently since his arrival. His past and present venues have included some of the trendiest Spanish restaurants in the city, such as Casa Mezcal, Rayuela, Peix and La Bota. He also plays a weekly show at Aire Ancient Baths in Tribeca, a spa frequented by many celebrities and other notable names.
Although Alabedra believes that Flamenco music will remain underground, and that he won’t “win a grammy,” necessarily, he remains optimistic about his ability to embark on a tour with his full band.
“I think I can play bigger events, festivals,” he said.
At a past Casa Mezcal show, the band even received press via Univision. Alabedra believes Americans are more interested in Flamenco than Spaniards.
“Maybe because in Spain, people are bored. Maybe in Spain, they listen more to rock or American music.”
Alabedra supplements the money he earns from playing gigs with Flamenco lessons he offers to fellow guitarists interested in exploring the unique conventions of the Spanish genre.
Alabedra doesn’t teach guitar basics, however. Playing between three to five gigs a week between various venues, he doesn’t have the time for the commitment.
“If somebody wants to start from zero, learning Flamenco…that’s impossible,” he said. “I have a lot of jazz guys who contact me. They play jazz very well and they are interested in learning other styles.”
Alabedra recorded his last album Barcelona-New York at THI studios in Brooklyn with the master-legend Robert Honablue, known for recording Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, Barbara Streisand and many more. His current band includes important musicians like the acclaimed Saxophonist Melissa Alana, the 2013 Thelonious Monk competition winner, as well know Spanish singer Alba Marba.
Not resting yet, Alabedra is currently preparing material for a new album at the end of year, continuing to define himself as more than just a Flamenco purist. The new material will continue his tradition of fusing world music and other influences into a Flamenco context.